New dual carriageway between Girne and Ercan will ease travel
A NEW dual carriageway which will ease travel between Girne and Ercan airport and other locations along the route will open on July 20, the 47th anniversary of the Turkish Peace Operation in Cyprus.
Prime Minister and National Unity Party leader Ersan Saner revealed the date for the road opening during a visit to the Lefke district to meet locals and answer their questions.
He was accompanied by Public Works and Transport Minister Resmiye Canaltay and other UBP ministers and UBP officials.
When completed, the road project, which has been beset by years of delays, will mean that motorists will be able to bypass the Gönyeli roundabout and several sets of traffic light junctions in Lefkoşa.
The opening date raised speculation that the road, financed by Turkey, could be officially opened by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who recently said that he is planning to visit North Cyprus on July 20.
Mr Saner said that the foundations for another Turkish-funded project – a new 500-bed hospital in Lefkoşa – will be laid on November 15, the 38th anniversary of the proclamation of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.
He pointed out that work on other infrastructure projects is “continuing rapidly throughout the country” including the completion of a new prison and the Lefke-Güzelyurt road, the foundations of which were laid in 2013.
Referring to Maraş, also known as Varosha, part of which was opened to the public for the first time in decades last year, Mr Saner said that there will no stepping back and that there are plans to reopen more areas of the former ghost town.
The Turkish and Turkish
Cypriot side is now seeking a solution in Cyprus “under the status of two sovereign equal states”, he added, a “determined stance that was displayed” during April’s informal talks with Greece and the Greek Cypriots in Geneva.
Turkish Cypriots will “not let future generations lose their rights for another 53 years”, the PM stressed, calling on the United Nations to “now play its actual role because peace was established on the island in 1974” and “all that is missing is an agreement”.