Cyprus golf resort gets approval to break ground

After five years of trying, and despite protests from environmentalists, MedGolf Group has received permission to build its golf resort in Cyprus, one of the most parched places on the planet.

Larnaca Golf Resort & Country Club will spread over 370 acres in the village of Tersefanou outside Larnaca. It’ll consist of an 18-hole, “international-standard” golf course, more than 500 villas and other housing units, a village square, a hotel, a spa, a helipad and other attractions. The golf course will be complemented by a PGA National Golf Academy, and its clubhouse will include a library, a cigar room and a “spike bar.”

The club’s 6,080-yard golf course will be managed by PGA Golf Management.

It’s been designed by Stan Eby of European Golf Design, who these days is ghost-designing Padraig Harrington’s first “signature” layout, at the Marlbrook in Clonmel, Ireland, and Annika Sorenstam’s golf course at Olivion Golf Resort in Belek, Turkey.

MedGolf Group is led by George Hassapis, the principal of Hassapis Land Developers. As part of their development agreement, Hassapis and his partners, DJK Group and Sakyrco Construction, are obliged to build a desalination plant to provide water for the resort. Such plants are common in Europe, particularly in and around Greece, which is known for its droughts. Over the past few years, the major reservoirs in Cyprus have essentially dried up.

The water issue energized protests about MedGolf’s resort, leading to the permitting difficulties, but local officials are apparently comfortable with the situation. Various news reports from Cyprus say that two more golf resorts will be approved soon.

According to Cypriot law, MedGolf now has 30 months to complete the project. A spokesman for the resort says that the golf course will be built before any residential sales begin.