Restoration of water supply to the TRNC extended due to delays to undersea water pipeline repairs

Repair work to the undersea pipeline conveying water from Mersin in Turkey to North Cyprus has been delayed for three days, due to the prevailing weather conditions.

It had been promised that the work would be completed by the end of August, then the date was extended to 25 September, bringing fears of water shortages.

The Undersecretary of Agriculture, Emirali Deveci, said that bad weather was affecting the work but that it was continuing because everyone knew how urgent it was to complete the task and that the island was running dry. “I hope the weather will allow the work to be completed,” he said.

It was first known that some pipes had been damaged in early January. Repairing the pipeline has been expensive and complex. Three tenders were put out for the repair operation. The first was to plan the project, the second was to produce the pipes and the third to install them.

A special factory was constructed to produce 10 high density polyethylene monolithic pipes, each of which has a nominal diameter of 1600 mm and each is 500 meters long, to replace those that had been damaged.

Turkish company Kalyon, the company involved in the original construction of the pipeline won the first tender to plan the project and the third tender to lay the pipes. The tender to produce the pipes went to another Turkish company Firatpen.

Production costs of the ten pipes were 35 million TL, while the cost of laying the pipes is 483 million TL.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has also added to delays caused by poor weather conditions.

LGC News, Yeniduzen, Cyprus Mail