Turkey plans to supply drinking water to northern Cyprus via a pipeline running 110km between its coast and the Mediterranean island, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.
“The project should be completed at the latest within three years beginning in June next year,” he told a news conference in Nicosia alongside Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat.
“The [Turkish] government has given the necessary instructions to the environment ministry so the project can be finalized,” he said.
Talat, head of the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized only by Ankara, said his administration had also offered to provide water to the Greek Cypriots in southern Cyprus, under a project called “water of peace.”
“So far, we have had no reply to our offer,” he said.
The Turkish idea involves a high density polyethylene pipeline, with 80km of its 110km length running under the sea. It would be able to transport some 75 million cubic meters of water a year.
Cyprus is suffering one of its worst droughts in modern history.
The internationally recognized government of Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias has been trying to supply the southern part of the divided island through tankers bringing water from Greece.
The project has been dogged by snags and delays, sparking charges of incompetence. The water has not been distributed to households although the first of the huge tankers arrived off the south coast more than two weeks ago.
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