Post by depletedreasons on Jun 30, 2008 8:46:28 GMT -5
Greek Cyprus rejects 'Turkish water'
Monday, June 30, 2008
DIPLOMACY
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News
Greek Cyprus has rejected a project to bring water to the island from Turkey despite the region being at the peak of a drought, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday.
Greek Cypriots are instead relying on plans to import water from Greece and the building of mobile desalination plants. According to an agreement signed by Greek Cypriot Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis and Greek Public Works Minister George Souflias Friday, Greece has agreed to sell 282.5 million cubic feet of water to Cyprus. �We will have the capability to transport 50,000 cubic meters daily from Greece through tanker shipments,� Polynikis said.
Northern Cyprus had offered to give a share to the South of the water to be brought from Turkey via underwater pipes during the technical committees' meetings aimed at solving the Cyprus issue. However, Greek Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou rejected the proposal and said they could not accept water from Turkey unless the political problems are solved.
The Peace Water Venture, launched by the Alarko Company in 1995, foresaw the building of an underwater pipeline to bring water to northern Cyprus and Israel. Construction work on the project started last January. The 78-kilometer pipeline would have an annual capacity of 75 million cubic meters, much more than the amount needed by 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. However, Greek Cyprus has so far not given a green light to even discuss the possibility of such a project. In fact, the Greek Cypriot government rejected an Israeli company who won a desalination tender because the same company was building a desalination facility in the North.
A dry winter has reduced Cyprus' water reserves in the island's reservoirs to 7.5 percent of capacity � a third of last year's amount. In March, authorities on both sides imposed water supply cuts on households.
www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=108569
Monday, June 30, 2008
DIPLOMACY
ISTANBUL - Turkish Daily News
Greek Cyprus has rejected a project to bring water to the island from Turkey despite the region being at the peak of a drought, daily Hürriyet reported yesterday.
Greek Cypriots are instead relying on plans to import water from Greece and the building of mobile desalination plants. According to an agreement signed by Greek Cypriot Agriculture Minister Michalis Polynikis and Greek Public Works Minister George Souflias Friday, Greece has agreed to sell 282.5 million cubic feet of water to Cyprus. �We will have the capability to transport 50,000 cubic meters daily from Greece through tanker shipments,� Polynikis said.
Northern Cyprus had offered to give a share to the South of the water to be brought from Turkey via underwater pipes during the technical committees' meetings aimed at solving the Cyprus issue. However, Greek Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou rejected the proposal and said they could not accept water from Turkey unless the political problems are solved.
The Peace Water Venture, launched by the Alarko Company in 1995, foresaw the building of an underwater pipeline to bring water to northern Cyprus and Israel. Construction work on the project started last January. The 78-kilometer pipeline would have an annual capacity of 75 million cubic meters, much more than the amount needed by 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. However, Greek Cyprus has so far not given a green light to even discuss the possibility of such a project. In fact, the Greek Cypriot government rejected an Israeli company who won a desalination tender because the same company was building a desalination facility in the North.
A dry winter has reduced Cyprus' water reserves in the island's reservoirs to 7.5 percent of capacity � a third of last year's amount. In March, authorities on both sides imposed water supply cuts on households.
www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=108569