Turkey's peace pipe to Cyprus
The water pipeline slated to reunify Cyprus faces strong opposition on environmental, cultural and political fronts from both Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
On Oct. 17, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated a controversial water pipeline link with Turkish-governed northern Cyprus. He gave a speech about the $450 million project first in the Anamur district of Mersin where the water pipeline originates, and then he traveled to Kyrenia, the tourism capital of Turkish northern Cyprus.
The project, known as Peace Water, is being promoted as the “project of the century” by the Turkish government. Erdogan emphasized, “If the Greek Cypriots say that they also want to utilize this water, we name this water Peace Water and we give it to them too, because the important thing for us is the humanity.”
The project was officially initiated in March 2011 with the construction of Alakopru Dam in Anamur.
Dursun Yildiz, director of the Hydropolitics Academy Association, told Al-Monitor the line is 80 kilometers (50 miles) long and runs 250 meters (275 yards) below sea level. It is expected to deliver about 20 billion gallons of water annually to Cyprus.
