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NEW £270 million undersea water pipeline from Turkey (Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project) puts pure water “on tap” in North Cyprus! The last thing you as a holidaymaker or resident of North Cyprus would want to face would be to find no water in your taps on a hot day! In the past, one of the big problems in the island of Cyprus generally has been lack of water, but this ambitious, unique new project has ensured that from Autumn 2014 the Turkish North of the island will never have to face this problem again. With over 300,000 residents plus a huge number of extra visitors every year, in the past the water supply has been solely from rainfall and costly desalination. Dry summers have seen drinking, golf course and irrigation water shortages – with the Southern half of Cyprus sometimes even having to import water by ship from Greece! Now the Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project, generously initiated by water-rich parent country mainland Turkey which is only 40 miles away, has guarantee clean, pure drinking water for everyone in the TRNC – and potentially eventually for the whole island.
Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project is now open. NEW £270 million undersea water pipeline from Turkey puts pure water “on tap” in North Cyprus!A dam (Alakopru) has being built in Anamur in the Mersin province of Southern Turkey.. The reservoir there can now contain up to 4.61 billion cubic feet of water. The watergoes to a pumping station which in turn diverts it through an 80km (50 mile) long pipe 250m deep under the sea to a pumping station in Northern Cyprus. From there, another pipeline sends water upwards to the massively expanded, spectacular Gecitkoy Dam, which nestles behind the Besparmak hills close to Kyrenia (Girne) on the beautiful North West Coast of Cyprus.
This is a unique project is now massively enhancing irrigation, agriculture and hence the standard of living in North Cyprus – as well as ensuring that all residents and visitors to the TRNC can drink purer water and never have to face water shortages in the future. The pipeline will also potentially provide electricity to Northern Cyprus from Turkey.
Dubbed “Peace Water” or in Turkish “Baris Su” – many experts in both Turkey and North Cyprus are hopeful that the water can act as a catalyst for increasing co-operation between North and South Cyprus, as the South is urgently in need of a reliable supply of fresh water too. In the North – half of the new water will be used for irrigation and half for drinking purposes.
One thing is for sure – as a property owner or holidaymaker in North Cyprus you can now benefit benefit not just from the reported 10-100% increase in land prices as a result of the pipeline, but also from beautifully pure and healthy Turkish spring water. On tap!
Article updated March 2017
