Turkey to build dam to carry water to Cyprus

The Alakopru Dam will be constructed on Dragon Creek in Anamur town of the Mediterranean province of Mersin and is planned to be completed within three years once the construction works are started.

 

The project aims to pump 75 million cubic meters of water yearly to the island, 15 of which will be used as drinking water and the rest for irrigation.

 

Turkish State Minister Kursad Tuzmen said project design works would be finalized next year. "This project will be implemented to help TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) fight drought and carry out irrigated farming," Tuzmen was quoted as saying by the state-run Anatolian Agency.

 

Turkey started the project in 1998 to build a dam on Dragon Creek and Turkish construction company Alarko was contracted for the project. A memorandum of understanding was signed by Turkish State Hydraulic Works and Alarko in 2005.

 

The project will bring water to the island from Alakopru Dam through an 80-kilometers submarine pipeline to be installed 120 meters deep in the Mediterranean Sea.

 

Cyprus is suffering one of its worst droughts in modern history. The Greek Cypriots, who rejected to receive water from Turkey, have been trying to supply the southern part of the divided island through tankers bringing water from Greece.

 

The annual capacity of the planned pipeline is much more than the amount needed by the Northern Cyprus. Since the planning phase, it has been suggested that the surplus could be offered to the southern Greek Cypriot area as a goodwill gesture to speed up the peace process.

 

A dry winter has reduced Cyprus' water reserves in the island's reservoirs to 7.5 percent of capacity,? a third of 2007. In March, authorities on both sides imposed water supply cuts on households.Â