Girne Köprülü Junction Foundation Was Laid

Minister of Public Works and Transport Erhan Arıklı, at the groundbreaking ceremony of the Yonca junction, which will be built at the intersection of the Nicosia Northern Ring Road and the Nicosia Kyrenia Main Road, noted that with the multi-storey intersection project, which is expected to be completed in April 2025, the traffic of Nicosia and Gönyeli in particular and the country, in general, will be greatly relieved.

The groundbreaking ceremony of the yonca junction (Girne bridge junction), which will be built at the intersection of the Nicosia Northern Ring Road and the Nicosia Kyrenia Main Road, was held with the participation of the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu.

The ceremony, which started with the National Anthem and a moment of silence, continued with the speeches of General Director of the Highways Department Ahmet Gülşen, Minister of Public Works and Transport Erhan Arıklı, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Prime Minister Ünal Üstel and President Ersin Tatar.

IT WAS IN THE FIRST PLACE AMONG OUR GOALS

Minister of Public Works and Transport Arıklı stated that the yonca junction, the foundation of which was laid today, was in the first place among his goals when he took office, and said that the necessary was done for this and thanked the Development and Economic Cooperation Office (BSEC) of the Republic of Turkey and the Embassy of the Republic of Turkey in Nicosia, which he stated undertook the expropriation money related to the project.

Stating that the Republic of Turkey has been supporting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in every issue since the past and that it stands by the TRNC in the development of infrastructure, Arıklı said, "As Turkish Cypriots, shouldn't we say 'Motherland to you' instead of 'gratitude to you'?"

Arıklı said, "Gönyeli Circle traffic will be a thing of the past" and noted that the Gönyeli Circle traffic will be greatly relieved with the multi-storey intersection project, and shared his prediction that the project will be completed by April.

In his speech, Arıklı said, "Your good deeds will never be forgotten" and thanked the former Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Metin Feyzioğlu and the new Ambassador Yasin Ekrem Serim, the former Coordinator of the BSEC Office Ömer Cihan and the current coordinator Erol Öz and the Undersecretary of the Ministry Enver Öztürk.

URALOĞLU: TRAVEL TIME OF 21 MINUTES WILL BE REDUCED TO 9 MINUTES

In his speech, the Minister of Transport, and Infrastructure of the Republic of Turkey, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, stated that when the entire road is put into service, the travel time of 21 minutes will be reduced to 9 minutes.

Pointing out that the transit traffic will be taken out of the city with the Northern Ring Road and the transportation of Nicosia with the city and surrounding campuses will be relieved, Uraloğlu said, "Thus, with this road, we will save a total of 1 billion 371 million TL annually, including 1.3 billion TL from time and 70 million TL from fuel."

Stating that they have also started the Eastern Mediterranean Ship Traffic Services System Project to be established in the TRNC to increase efficiency in the Eastern Mediterranean, Uraloğlu noted that they plan to complete the project in 2026 and that the project will significantly increase the dominance of both Turkey and the TRNC in the Blue Homeland.

Stating that under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey attaches great importance to the development and strengthening of the TRNC in all respects in parallel with the goal of achieving a comprehensive solution on the island of Cyprus, Uraloğlu said, "The development move that has taken place in the TRNC in recent years with the contributions of Turkey and the economic growth related to it makes us all proud."

"TRANSPORTATION WILL BE RELIEVED"

Giving detailed information about the road, Minister Uraloğlu stated that there will be 2 modern roundabouts within the road, which will have a platform width of 23 meters, as well as a 48-meter-span Kyrenia bridge junction that will connect the road to the Kyrenia - Nicosia Road.

Pointing out that the transportation of Nicosia with the city and surrounding campuses will be relieved by taking the transit traffic out of the city with the Northern Ring Road, Uraloğlu said, "We are increasing the transportation standard of the city with fast and uninterrupted traffic flow by eliminating the stop-and-go waits on the Nicosia-Famagusta Road, which has an annual average daily traffic amount of over 40 thousand. In addition, with the Kyrenia bridge junction, which will be built as a clover junction, we will ensure the uninterrupted connection of the two important highways of the TRNC." said.

"WE WILL REDUCE THE TRAVEL TIME FROM 21 MINUTES TO 9 MINUTES"

Stating that they will reduce the travel time from 21 minutes to 9 minutes when the entire Nicosia Northern Ring Road is put into service, Uraloğlu said, "Thus, with this road, we will save a total of 1 billion 371 million TL annually, including 1.3 billion TL from time and 70 million TL from fuel."

He also stated that they will contribute to the protection of nature by reducing the carbon emissions of vehicles that harm the environment by 5 thousand tons, Uraloğlu stated that they will tender the remaining 4,4 km third section of the Nicosia Northern Ring Road in the future and its construction will begin.

Uraloğlu said that they will also examine the works on the connection roads of the Presidential Campus today, and noted that this 5,2-kilometer-long road will be used to reach the Presidency, the Assembly of the Republic and the National Garden in a way that will be in divided road standards.

"WE HAVE BUILT 633 KM OF BITUMINOUS HOT MIX COATED MAIN ROADS, INCLUDING 198 KM OF DIVIDED ROADS AND 435 KM OF SINGLE ROADS"

Giving information about the investments made in Northern Cyprus by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure so far, Uraloğlu used the following statements:

"We have built a total of 633 km of bituminous hot mix coated main roads, including 198 km of divided roads and 435 km of single roads. The amount of financing provided by our country for the construction and project works of these roads is approximately 14 billion TL at current prices. As of 2024, the total project cost is 4.5 billion TL; Our construction and construction works of 6 road construction projects with a total length of 378 km continue."

Stating that the new Ercan Airport, which was inaugurated last year, is one of the most important investments they have implemented to transform the TRNC into a center of attraction, Uraloğlu said, "We enlarged the new terminal building 6 times and increased it to a capacity of 10 million passengers. In addition, we have designed this place in such a way that it can be increased to a capacity of 12 million passengers when needed in the future."

Reminding that they also inaugurated the Anamur Ferry and Seaplane Pier, the fifth gate with the shortest sea distance, which allows passenger and vehicle transportation from Turkey to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, Uraloğlu continued as follows:

"Our Anamur-Girne route; It has been the shortest sea route between our country and the TRNC with less than 2 hours. Passenger voyages have started from our pier to Girne Harbor.

Approximately 11,000 passengers have been transported on 46 fast travel since June 12th."

"WE HAVE ALSO STARTED THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SHIP TRAFFIC SERVICES SYSTEM PROJECT"

In his speech, Uraloğlu shared the following details about the projects carried out:

"To increase our effectiveness in the Eastern Mediterranean, we have also started the Eastern Mediterranean Ship Traffic Services System Project, which will be established in the TRNC. We plan to complete our project in 2026.

After the completion of the project, we will significantly increase the dominance of both our country and the TRNC in the Blue Homeland. We are also working to increase the efficiency and quality of the services of public institutions in Northern Cyprus and to facilitate the transition of the digital transformation ecosystem.

We have implemented a similar e-Government application in our country with the e-Government Gateway of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Again in this direction; We also opened the TRNC Data Center to meet the information technology service delivery infrastructure needs of the public institutions of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. This data center has gone down in history as a very important step in the digitalization process of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus."

Stating that under the leadership of the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, they will continue to do their part to ensure the peace, prosperity, development and security of the TRNC, as they have done so far, Uraloğlu said, "We will continue to fight for the development of the lands of Northern Cyprus, shoulder to shoulder, just like our Mehmetçiks who fought shoulder to shoulder for the independence of the Turkish Cypriots."

"We will continue our determined stance, support, and work to ensure that our Turkish Cypriot brothers and sisters look to the future with confidence," said Uraloğlu and thanked those who contributed to the current stage of the Nicosia Northern Ring Road Project.

Source (Turkish): TRNC Ministry of Public Works and Transportation

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