Turkey funds 69‑billion‑lira water project to secure Northern Cyprus' 50‑year supply

Turkish Agriculture and Forestry Minister İbrahim Yumaklı visited the Turkish‑controlled Northern Cyprus (KKTC) to inspect the ongoing "Orta Mesarya Ovası Sulama Ana İletim Hattı 2. Kısım" construction. He participated in lowering a 2,500 mm steel pipe into the trench and highlighted that the water‑security programme is part of a broader 14‑project, 69 billion‑lira investment aimed at meeting the region’s water needs for the next 50 years.

The programme, launched under President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s leadership, has so far completed 41 billion lira of work, with 8 billion lira still under construction and 20 billion lira in planning. Completed infrastructure includes an 870 km transmission line, 49 depots and pumping stations, a 529 km drinking‑water distribution network and a modern treatment plant capable of 200 000 m³ per day. An additional 9 720 ha of the Mesarya plain will be irrigated through the second‑phase transmission line, a 5.5 billion‑lira project slated for completion by 2027.

Yumaklı also referenced the “Asrın Projesi” that has supplied KKTC with water since 2015 via an 80 km subsea pipeline from Turkey’s Alaköprü Dam, delivering about 75 million m³ annually for drinking, industrial and agricultural use. He emphasized that the investments are not only to address current demand but also to establish a scientific “Su ve Toprak Kaynakları Master Plan” for future water‑resource management.

The minister framed the water supply as a symbol of Turkish‑Northern Cypriot solidarity, stating that each drop of water from Anatolia represents “brotherhood, trust and a shared future.”