The Audit Office of the Republic of Cyprus has released a damning report detailing significant weaknesses and omissions in the procedures followed by the Department of Forests in acquiring and leasing firefighting aircraft and ground vehicles during the period 2022–2024.

As Brief reports, a central finding of the report is that four out of the five helicopter procurement or leasing cases reviewed resulted in a final cost of €62.2 million to the Republic—well above initial estimates and borne by taxpayers.

The Audit Office concludes that the Department, acting as the contracting authority, failed to adequately manage the provision of vital firefighting resources—both aerial and ground—despite the critical importance of this task for public safety and the protection of Cyprus’s natural environment.

The report points to several systemic flaws: poor planning, insufficient market research, inconsistent evaluation criteria, and repeated tendering failures. In particular, tenders often attracted few bidders or were rejected due to overly restrictive technical requirements—most notably the Department’s insistence on EASA certifications while excluding equivalent ICAO approvals.

“This led to reduced competition, significantly higher costs, and—most importantly—delays in securing essential firefighting equipment,” the report warns.

Key examples highlighted include:

• Helicopter leasing (Tender 1/2024): Awarded on 20 July 2024—well into the fire season.

• Procurement of 42 fire trucks (Tender 9/2022): Awarded in October 2023.

• Procurement of 6 tanker trucks (Tender 9/2022): Also awarded in October 2023.

• Procurement of firefighting aircraft (Tender 10/2023): The tender was cancelled and never reissued.

In three of the five reviewed cases, the delayed completion meant Cyprus partially or entirely missed the critical summer fire period.

In terms of spending, while the initial estimated cost for the four most expensive cases stood at €48.8 million, the final contract awards reached €62.2 million—an overrun of 27.5%.

These failures come in the wake of Cyprus’s most devastating wildfire in modern history—the July 3, 2021 blaze in Arakapas, which killed four people and destroyed around 55 square kilometers of land, 28 homes, and vast agricultural areas, causing over €15 million in damages with irreparable environmental consequences.

Despite the lessons from 2021, the Audit Office highlights a continued inability to properly manage such a vital responsibility. “This constitutes a serious failure of administration,” the report states.

It concludes by calling for immediate corrective measures and institutional accountability.