Visitors and residents in Cyprus can look forward to improved water sports opportunities this summer as plans for a new man-made reef in Paphos get underway.

Three spots for the reef are currently under consideration. The Paphos Tourism Board told OGC that it is likely that the reef will be located off the coast of Paphos Municipality. “There are certain criteria which need to be fulfilled regarding the location of the reef. It needs to be accessible to a large number of tourist facilities,” Board President, Nassos Hadjigeorgiou said.

To kick start the creation of the reef, the tourism board has purchased an old fishing boat from the Cyprus Ports Authority, with the financial support of the Cyprus Tourism Organisation. The Cyprus Diver’s Association is also playing a consulting role in the creation of the reef.

The vessel will be sunk according to European standards and directives once the board has decided on the location of the reef. “The boat is only the start. It is just an old fishing boat and there will be more added to the area.”

Artificial reefs are millennia old with the ancient Persian and Romans amongst the first to introduce the marine structures to their waters. Typically, a reef promotes marine life by providing fish and other sea creatures with hiding places and breeding grounds. Paphos’s reef will be completed by the end of 2013, thanks in part to EU funding. Paphos is not the only area benefiting from the initiative. Two more wrecks are being sunk near Protaras and Limassol.

If you’re planning to buy property in Cyprus and need to transfer a large sum of money, remember to use a currency specialist to exchange your pounds into euros. For more information, contact Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property Cyprus, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘Cyprus Property Buying Guide’