Figures reveal water amount supplied by Turkey

ALMOST a quarter of a billion cubic metres of water has been supplied to the TRNC from Turkey over the last five years, according to new figures released on Monday.

The amount – 236,457,000m3 – was revealed by the TRNC Waterworks Department and refers to the amount of water that has been pumped from Anamur, Turkey, via an undersea pipeline after it was inaugurated in 2015.

The pipeline was repaired earlier this month after it broke in half in January, leading to widespread water shortages. Over 300 workers and six ships were involved in the complicated repair operation.

Speaking to Turkey’s Anadolu Agency, Anamur governor Mehmet Nuri Başaran said that the “suspended water pipeline system” is the only one of its kind in the world.

Mr Başaran emphasised that that the pipeline provides water for drinking and irrigation and industrial and agricultural purposes.

“This project is a reflection of brotherhood,” Mr Başaran said. “We are so happy to host such a project. Our people consider the TRNC as a part of their own country. We are the parts of the same nation. There is only a 70km distance between us; therefore we are historically and sociologically close to each other. “Anamur Mayor Hidayet Kılınç said that there is a “strong bond” between Turkey and the TRNC people.

Stating that the project has a “unique infrastructure”, Mr Kılınç said: “The TRNC was a land without water, there were serious problems experienced here due to a lack of water.

“The Turkish nation did not leave their brothers and sisters on their own. People in Anamur shared their own water. The TRNC’s water problem has been solved for the next 50 years. The TRNC is very important for us. . . We will continue to provide all the necessary support to our brothers and sisters on the island [of Cyprus].”