The Audit Office of Cyprus published a special report today mapping who wins public construction work and how competitive tenders really are. FastForward breaks down the key insights.

Drawing on eProcurement data for 2015–2024, the review finds that although 2,164 contracts worth €2.515bn were awarded in that period, a large share of the money flowed to a very small group of firms.

According to the analysis, three contractors—Cyfield, Iacovou and Cybarco—secured 40.8% of the total contract value while accounting for only 13% of the number of contracts. The Office says Cyfield ranked first in market share for four consecutive years (2019–2023), a pattern it notes could indicate the emergence of a dominant position.

At the same time, the market shows a split personality: 80% of all contracts (1,734 out of 2,164) went to many smaller or single operators, but these made up just 39% of total value—evidence of fragmentation in small projects and concentration in large ones. The Audit Office warns that heavy concentration can weaken the state’s bargaining power and raises capacity questions when a few firms handle multiple major works in parallel.

Competition concerns also surface in bidding patterns. Looking at the top ten economic operators during 2021–2024, 60.3% of tenders drew at least three bids, yet 14.2% had no competition at all—only one offer, which ultimately won. The Office says repeated single-bid outcomes should prompt contracting authorities to scrutinize procedures.

Delays are substantial on big projects. In a sample of 23 completed contracts, the average slippage between the contractual completion date and the “substantial completion” (temporary acceptance) was 461 days—about 76.7% longer than the original timeframe. The Audit Office did not examine the causes or assign responsibility for these overruns.

How were the €2.5 billion from the 2015–2024 period distributed?

• The value of awards accelerated after 2019, peaking at €596.0m in 2023; the decade-long total reached €2.515bn. 

• In 2023, the four leading awardees—Cyfield Group, Iacovou Group, A. Aristotelous Construction and A.N. Ioannou—captured 61% of that year’s total value. 

• In 2024, Wade Adams (Cyprus) led with €66.2m across four contracts; three other contractors (KEPA Attikis, Cyfield Group, A. Aristotelous) rounded out the top four, together taking 45% of the year’s total.

The Office analyzed awards over €50,000 as posted on the national eProcurement portal. The findings sketch a market where small works are dispersed but big-ticket projects cluster among a handful of players—coinciding with frequent delays and pockets of weak competition. The Audit Office urges vigilance to avoid both over-concentration and excessive fragmentation, arguing that a healthier tender landscape ultimately protects public value for money.