The arbitration dispute between a Greek-led construction consortium and a Chinese developer over the €600 million City of Dreams Mediterranean resort in Cyprus is set to drag on for years, underscoring the lingering legal risks tied to some of Europe’s largest post-pandemic tourism investments.
At the center of the case is the sprawling City of Dreams Mediterranean, a casino resort in the coastal city of Limassol that opened in July 2023. Developed by Melco Resorts & Entertainment, the Hong Kong-listed group controlled by entrepreneur Lawrence Ho, the property is billed by the company as the largest casino resort in Europe and marked Melco’s first foray into the continent.
The complex includes a 14-story hotel with roughly 500 rooms and suites, gaming facilities, restaurants, retail outlets, pools and conference space, positioning Cyprus as a more prominent player in high-end tourism and convention travel. But even as the resort operates at full capacity, disputes over how it was built have escalated into a high-stakes legal confrontation.
A consortium led by Greek construction groups GEK TERNA and AVAX, which carried out the project, has been pursuing arbitration against the Chinese developer ICR Cyprus Resort Development Co Ltd at the London Court of International Arbitration. The contractors are seeking more than €53 million in damages, arguing that flaws in the project’s design and a series of changes during construction drove up costs and caused significant delays.
Those delays, the consortium says, were further exacerbated by external shocks, including the Covid-19 pandemic, a surge in energy prices and disruptions linked to the war in Ukraine. The formal claim was filed in April 2025, with additional claims still under evaluation.
ICR has pushed back with a counterclaim of its own, filed in August 2025, seeking roughly €52 million. That figure includes €31.5 million already paid by the contractors under protest, a move aimed at avoiding penalties such as the enforcement of bank guarantees.
The case, initially expected to be heard in 2026, has now been postponed to October 2027, extending a dispute that highlights the complexity of large-scale cross-border construction projects in a volatile economic environment. While advisers to the Greek consortium say many of its claims have a reasonable chance of success, the outcome remains uncertain, with both sides facing years of legal wrangling before a final ruling is reached.
