Twenty years after the Council of Ministers approved a policy to establish 14 golf courses to boost tourism, the project is faltering, with only four courses currently operating and most relying on government water sources despite an explicit policy ban.

The original 2005 government policy explicitly stated that “no quantity of water will be granted from government water works or sewage systems for the development of golf courses.”

However, the reality is that the vast majority of the courses operating or under construction are irrigated and supplied by government networks and dams, a fact that is now alarming the Water Development Department (WDD) amid prolonged drought conditions.

The WDD is currently assessing the future operation of the courses, with discussions now centering on the possibility of discontinuing water supply to these facilities due to the severe pressure on water resources and agricultural production.

Water consumption and policy violations

In 2024, despite the drought, the WDD allocated 400,000 cubic metres of recycled water for the irrigation needs of the five existing or under-construction courses.

The five courses (Aphrodite Hills, Secret Valley, Minthis Hills, Elea Estate, and Limassol Greens) occupy a total area of 3,133 decares (approx. 774 acres). Their total water consumption from 2019 to August 2025 amounted to 6.68 million cubic metres.

The 2005 policy mandated that any new development could only use recovered water from its own tertiary sewage treatment. Yet, the WDD confirmed that most Paphos courses temporarily draw water from the Asprokremmos Dam via the Paphos Major Irrigation Project (MAEP).

Specifically:

• Aphrodite Hills and Secret Valley temporarily draw irrigation water from MAEP until they complete mandated upgrades and the installation of a recovered water network.
• Minthis Hills receives water from the Ezousa aquifer via MAEP, despite its original license requiring self-extraction from an owner-operated project.
• Elea Estate uses a private borehole within the Ezousa aquifer for irrigation but receives its potable water from the Asprokremmos refinery.
• Limassol Greens, the only course currently under construction, is complying with licensing terms by using recovered water from the Limassol-Amathus Sewerage Board.

Detailed Water Usage (2019–August 2025)

The data below illustrates the water consumption (in cubic metres, $m^3$) for the five facilities over the last five years:

Golf Course (Area)2019-2022 Total202320242025 (to Aug)Grand Total (m3)Aphrodite Hills (533 decares)148,893372,840358,904218,4251,099,062Secret Valley (600 decares)514,520225,600280,40087,8801,108,400Minthis Hills (300 decares)741,500175,400181,700109,7001,208,300Elea Estate (300 decares)1,945,750376,520396,910195,8402,915,020Limassol Greens (1,400 decares)N/AN/A144,100204,390348,490

Inactive licences and compliance fees

To address the policy failure, the Council of Ministers decided in December 2024 to revoke licenses for courses that have failed to pay a compensatory fee of €5 million, a legal requirement for certain developments.

Investors have a 12-month window to settle their dues in two instalments; otherwise, their planning permits will be cancelled. The government found that many investors were holding onto permits without intending to build, potentially awaiting a reduction or abolition of the compensatory fee before proceeding.

The original 2005 policy, which set the desired number of courses at 14, included incentives for residential or tourist development to support the creation of the golf facilities.

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