 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| . |  |
. |
Nicosia (AFP) July 19, 2010 Turkey signed an agreement Monday with the the breakaway Turkish statelet in Cyprus on a long-standing project to build a pipeline under the Mediterranean to supply water to the island's north. The framework agreement envisages pumping 75 million cubic metres of water a year to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) through a conduit running from Mersin on Turkey's Mediterranean coast to the Gecitkoy area, near the northern Cypriot port of Kyrenia. The construction of the pipeline and the related facilities on the two shores are due to be completed in four years. Turkey will foot the bill of the 450 million-dollar (348 million-euro) project. The agreement was signed by Turkish Cypriot prime minister Irsen Kucuk and Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek who is visiting the TRNC for the 36th anniversary Tuesday of Ankara's invasion of the island's north. Cyprus has been divided along ethnic lines since 1974, when Turkey seized its northern third in response to an Athens-engineered coup in Nicosia aimed at uniting the island with Greece. The TRNC is recognized only by Turkey while the Greek Cypriot south of the island enjoys international recognition. Turkey, which keeps some 30,000 troops in the island's north, has long propped up the internationally isolated enclave. The project to build a water pipeline to Cyprus under the Mediterranean has been around for years and has been promoted by successive governments in Ankara as the solution to resolve the chronic water shortage in the TRNC. In the late 1990s, Turkey sought to transport water to the island in huge plastic balloons, but the project soon proved inefficient and was abandoned.
Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Water News - Science, Technology and Politics
Australia turns to desalinationSydney (UPI) Jul 12, 2010 Coming through a decade of drought said to be its worst in a century, Australia has turned to desalination as part of the government's measures to beef up water supply systems. State governments are already investing $13.2 billion in desalination plants in Melbourne, Sydney, Perth, Adelaide and on the Gold Coast. In two years, when the final plant is expected to be in operation, ... read more |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook
