Client: ATUM Developments Ltd
The EDEN CITY Masterplan -as proposed by ATUM Developments Ltd- concerns an approximate 182 ha luxury complex real estate development. The area of Masterplan involves 64 hectares of Government Land, together with a new man-made island of 110 ha, based on a Request for Proposal (RFP) Call by the Public Works Department (Ministry of Transport, Communications and Works) for developing the Hierokipia Chiftlik State Property at the Geroskipou Municipality in the District of Paphos. The project aims to serve as a luxury and exclusive touristic, education, health, retail and cultural development in order to attract high-end tourists and visitors and to provide beyond state of the art services on these sectors.
Challenges
The environmental aspect of the project included various challenges that needed to be addressed. The proposed Masterplan is of unique complexity and scale for Cyprus proportions, as well as on a European level, mainly due to its size (~182 ha) and to the construction of an artificial island (110 ha) next to a marine Natura 2000 area “Thalassia Periochi Moulia”, as well as due to the existence of sensitive marine habitats and priority species (mainly Posidonia oceanica). The size of the project as such, and together with its implications (resources, infrastructures, wastes, etc.), is considerable in relation to the surrounding environment and existing infrastructure, and its integration to these elements needed to be assessed in detail and carefully planned.
Services provided
I.A.CO – together with its subcontractors – provided integrated environmental consulting services, which included the successful elaboration of the following:
- Environmental Impact Assessment for the whole Masterplan
- Appropriate Assessment Study to the Natura 2000 SCI site “Thalassia Periochi Moulia” (CY4000006) from the construction and operation of the Divina Island in accordance with the provisions of Article 6(3) and (4) of the Habitats Directive 92/43/EEC
- Study according to the Article 4.7 of the Water Framework Directive 2000/60/EC for the Divina Island development
- Domestic and Irrigation Water Demand for the Eden City Cyprus Project
- Traffic Impact Assessment
- Noise Impact Assessment from the generated traffic load (IMMI Model Noise Simulations)
- Air Pollution Impact Assessment from the generated traffic load (IMMI Air Pollutants Simulations)
- Marine Field Surveys for the collection of baseline information regarding the development site of Divina Island, the Natura 2000 site “Thalassia Periochi Moulia” near the construction site of the Divina Island and Marine biology survey for the assessment of Pinna nobilis population at the development site of Divina Island
- Mapping of main habitats and bottom types in Natura 2000 MPA of the Moulia site
- Proposal of detailed pre-, during and post- construction monitoring programme
Apart from the above, I.A.CO organized and coordinated all the meetings, discussions, workshops etc. during the EIA scoping and implementation phase with the relevant Authorities and the consulting team and various partners.
