A cruiseferry route that will link mainland-Greece to Cyprus Island was recently approved by the European Commission (EC),. EUR 6,7 million (~USD 7,6 M) will be granted annually to support the new service.
The information was confirmed by Natasa Pilides (Cyprus Deputy Minister) on July 6, at a press conference where she went into detail on the proposed ferry link. The project had been suspended 20 years ago. Talks on state aid were conducted in 2019.
On July 3, 2020, the Directorate-General for Competition of the EU announced that the project could indeed be supported by state funds. However, there was still much work to be done prior to the progress of planning, the minister said. The next step was an open bidding process to coordinate the available resources.
The passenger and car ferry's itinerary will include either Limassol or Larnaca (in Cyprus) and Piraeus-Athens Greece, with a possible intermediate (Greek Island) stop along the route.
The new ferry service is due to be conducted once per week in the summer (May through September) and once every 2 weeks in the winter (October through April). The hope is the project will create a new market for travellers coming in from Greece and Cyprus.