Cyprus Today,- February 25-March 3. 2006
Where 804m YTL Turkish aid will go
ROADS, water and electricity feature prom¬inently among the infrastructural schemes cov¬ered by the latest Turkish aid programme.
Of the 804 million YTL that will he grained to North Cyprus, a total of 263 million YTL is earmarked for 570 such projects, and of that, 87 million YTL is to be given to the country's local auth¬orities for infrastructural investment.
Municipalities will also receive a further 6.2 million YTLr to be spent on building pavements, asphalting, sewerage systems, rain water drainage, parks, gardens and for the purchase of rubbish and sewage disposal vehicles.
According to figures released by the Turkish Embassy in Lefkosa, 35.25 million YTL will be set aside for the construction of new reservoirs and water mains, renewing drinking water networks and pumps and for the clearance of river beds. Some 19 million YTL will go on the construction, maintenance and repair of roads.
The TRNC's energy shortage also attracts funding, with 33 million YTL reserved for the con¬struction of power plants and renewal of distribution cables.
Around 1.5 million YTL is set aside for the building of a second runway at Ercan Airport, and a further three million YTL is to go on completing ongoing airport projects, such as the purchase of fire extinguishers and fire engines, installation of raised viewing platforms and the construction of the VTP area. Health attracts 5.6 million YTL in resources, which will he spent on establishing centres for cardiovascular surgery and for oncology and radiotherapy. A walkie-talkie communications system will be set up for the emer¬gency ambulance service, and items including bedding, a generator and heart monitoring equipment will be bought for Lefkosa State Hospital.
A further 10 million YTL will he given to the 120-bed capacity hospital to be built in GaziMagusa.
The funding is detailed in a 20-page booklet issue by the Turkish Embassy. In the introduction to the pamphlet, entitled The 2006 Investments Planned by the Turkish Republic and the TRNC, Turkish Ambassador Aydan Karahan notes that the protocol for the investments, signed by the Turkish Minister of State respon¬sible for Cyprus affairs Abdiillatif Sener and TRNC Premier Ferdi Sabit Soyer, came into force as of the end of January. The programme includes projects out¬standing since 2005 and new starts to be undertaken this year.
Twenty-five million YTL is set aside for the development of water resources (reservoirs), distribution networks, research and most im¬portantly, the project to bring water to the TRNC from Turkey by underwater pipeline. In addition, 10.25 million YTL will be spent on renewing the drinking water dis¬tribution networks and turbines, and clearing the country's river beds. A sum of 250.000 YTL is earmarked for drilling to find new drinking water sources.
Roads receive one of the biggest single chunks of infrastructural funding, with 14 million YTL res¬erved for implementing the TRNC Highways Master Plan. This amount covers the initial stages of the long-awaited Girne bypass, the second stage of the northern coastal road and a Yilmazkoy-Gurpinar-Guzelyurt-Kalkanh dual carriageway.
A further 19 million YTL will be spent on the repair and main¬tenance of existing roads.
The 6.2 million YTL to he given to local authorities for their infrastructural projects will be used for the completion of the amphi¬theatre in Girne and will go to the municipalities of Girne. Lefkosa, Gonyeli, Catalkoy, Alsancak, Pasakoy, Guzelyurt, Lapta, Lefke, Dipkarpaz, Yenibogazici, Esentepe, Tatlisu, Mehmetcik, Buyukkonuk and Degirmenlik for the building of pavements, road surfacing, sewerage, rain water drainage systems, parks and gardens and for the purchase of vehicles for dis |
