Cyprus auditor warns of risks from air conditioners in schools — Cyprus Mail
Cyprus Auditor General Andreas Papaconstantinou has warned of serious health and safety risks to students and teachers due to the commissioning of air conditioners in public schools without completing the required inspections. This was reported by Cyprus Mail, citing a report by the Audit Office.
On September 24, auditors visited five schools where the Ministry of Education had indicated that air conditioner installation works were completed. In four of them, basic works remained unfinished. The auditors found air conditioners installed nearly two years ago but not connected, as well as units that were switched on alternately to avoid overloading the power grid.
Safety procedure violations
According to the report, some schools had openly laid temporary electrical connections and an electrical panel whose door had its safety locking mechanism removed. Audit Office staff were also informed of a case in which a circuit breaker tripped and was switched back on seven times during one day.
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Papaconstantinou said that the air conditioners were commissioned without prior inspection and certification of the electrical installations, as well as without final inspection and approval. In his view, the operation of such units should be stopped immediately until the established procedure is completed. The report stressed that the results of the inspection of five schools cannot be considered representative of all institutions, but the nature of the identified violations requires urgent action.
Delays and project cost
The project provided for the installation of air conditioners in 209 schools in three stages. In ten institutions, the work is to be carried out in two phases, so the project covers 219 cases in total. As of July 2026, work had been completed in 81 cases, or 37%. In 79 cases, electrical work had not yet been completed, air conditioner installation was ongoing in 52 cases, and six sites were awaiting inspection by the Electricity Authority of Cyprus.
In total, 5,165 air conditioners have been installed or are planned to be installed under the project. The current cost of the work reached €9.82 million excluding VAT in July 2026. The auditors also pointed to limited competition in tenders, costs exceeding estimates for certain procurements, and differences in procedures among school boards. The project was initially planned for completion by the end of 2026, but the report noted that the completion of the work was recently announced to be postponed until the end of 2028.
