The first phase of a project to rehabilitate the Apostolos Andreas monastery in the occupied north is nearing its end, MPs heard on Wednesday.

Takis Hadjdemetriou, the head of the Greek Cypriot side in the bi-communal technical committee on cultural heritage, said there might be a slight delay but the monastery will be delivered in excellent condition, better than how it was before 1974.

The project was due to finish by May but completion could be pushed back by a month or so.

Restoration of the monastery is a bi-communal project mainly funded by the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus and the Turkish Cypriot Evkaf religious administration.

Located on the island’s easternmost tip, on the Karpas peninsula, the monastery was in urgent need of repair and it had taken years to reach an agreement on its restoration.

Crews were now working on the core of the monument, focusing on the church, at a cost of some €2.2mln.

The next phase concerns the medieval chapel and the fountain.

Hadjidemetriou said groundwork has already been carried out – an archaeological dig and geological survey – and “we are ready to proceed to stage two.”

The third and fourth stages concern the surrounding area and buildings.

The cost of the entire project is expected to reach €6 mln.