The construction industry in Cyprus faces a looming shortage of essential building materials as a dispute over quarry zone extensions in Xylofagou, located within the British Sovereign Base Areas, escalates.

Three companies operating quarries in the area — Kaos Quarrying Ltd, Iakovou Bros Quarrying Operations Ltd, and M.E.L. Quarrying Ltd — have been warning since 2018 that their reserves were running out. That year they submitted applications for extensions to the quarrying zone. Seven years later, with the applications still pending, one of the quarries has already shut down and the other two are expected to cease operations within months. Around 80 workers have gone on strike, supported unusually by their employers, in what they describe as a last resort to prevent the industry from grinding to a halt.

The quarries supply limestone for concrete and other aggregates vital to the building sector in the Larnaca and free Famagusta districts. Without new reserves, local contractors will be forced to transport materials from more distant regions, raising costs, clogging roads with heavy trucks, and increasing carbon emissions. Industry representatives warn that shortages will ripple across the economy, threatening jobs, raising housing costs, and delaying infrastructure projects.

The Pan-Cyprian Association of Quarries argues that the companies acted responsibly, filing timely applications before the introduction of new planning rules. Its president, Antonis Latouros, accused the British Bases of deliberately excluding the expansion zones from the 2022 Policy Statement that governs non-military development within the SBAs. The association has proposed three possible solutions: immediate approval of the 2018 applications under the old regime, permission to start preliminary works in the requested area under current rules, or allocation of a new site near the buffer zone.

The Cyprus Mines and Quarries Service has sided with the industry, stressing that the issue is critical for local supply and placing the responsibility for the stalemate squarely on the British Bases. It noted that it has repeatedly urged the SBA Administration to approve the extensions, given the strategic importance of the Xylofagou quarries as the only source of aggregates for eastern Larnaca and Famagusta.

For their part, the British Bases say the future of the quarries will be considered in the framework of the Non-Military Development (NMD) process agreed with the Republic of Cyprus. In a statement, the SBA Administration said it is in the final stages of reviewing objections in cooperation with Nicosia and expects announcements in the coming weeks. The Bases also raised safety concerns at the sites, citing issues such as access to unstable cliffs, inadequate protective equipment for workers, and damaged fencing that allows unauthorized entry.

Quarry operators counter that waiting another two to three years for the NMD process will push them to the brink, with reserves already exhausted. “Our survival depends on immediate decisions,” the companies said, warning of intensified industrial action if no solution is found.