Minister signs GirneBellapais cable car connection protocol
A PLAN to connect Girne to Bellapais with a four-kilometre long cable car has been revealed.
The announcement was made by the Tourism, Culture, Youth and the Environment Ministry as part of ideas to promote village bed-andbreakfast accommodation and “alternative tourism”.
A signing ceremony for a “cooperation protocol” including the plans was signed by Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism, Culture, Youth and the Environment Minister Fikri Ataoğlu and Bellapais Culture and Unity Association president Ercan Küçük.
National Unity Party (UBP) MP Hasan Küçük, Girne Mayor Nidai Güngördü, Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism, Culture, Youth and the Environment Ministry Undersecretary Serhan Aktunç, association officials and local businesspeople from the area also attended the signing ceremony.
In a speech Mr Ataoğlu stated
that he believed the protocol will “contribute greatly to the development of alternative tourism models”.
Pointing out that Bellapais is “one of the most important tourism areas of the country with its history and natural beauty”, Mr Ataoğlu said that the work to be done “will preserve the historical, cultural and natural beauty of Bellapais”.
He noted that cable car project plans have reached the “final stage” and that the project will be “brought to life very soon”.
Responding to criticisms of the project, Mr Ataoğlu said: “Because we believe in this country and love it, malicious criticisms cannot deter us from the steps we will take for its development . . . We will implement alternative tourism models one by one, starting with cruises between Bafra and Gazimağusa and realising the cable car project between Girne and Bellapais.”
Five years ago a plan to construct a cable car route — from the Karaoğlanoğlu coast to St Hilarion Castle — was ditched following objections from local residents and its official rejection by the Antiquities and Monuments Board.