NICOSIA, Cyprus – Turkey’s forestry and water works minister says the last section of an undersea pipeline that will deliver fresh water from Turkey to the breakaway north of ethnically divided Cyprus has been connected.
The north’s BRT broadcaster quoted Veysel Eroglu as saying Friday that water will start flowing through the 50-mile (80 kilometer) pipeline in about a month.
The pipeline will supply around 2.6 billion cubic feet (75 million cubic meters) of water annually, enough to meet the north’s irrigation and drinking water needs for a half century.
Eroglu said water will be shared with Greek Cypriots in the internationally recognized south if ongoing talks to reunify the drought-prone island bear fruit.
Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded after a coup by supporters of union with Greece.
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