Taçoy: Gas Pipeline Will Positively Affect the Region’s Future

Taçoy said the pipeline project represented the biggest step taken toward meeting the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus’ (TRNC) energy needs and eliminating the problems currently being experienced, describing the fact that the project was moving forward as a significant development.

Referring to recent remarks by Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, Taçoy said that, as the TRNC’s minister responsible for energy and the economy, he wanted to share his views on the project.

“Based on the fact that the Turkish Cypriot people also have rights over the hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean, whose existence we now know very well, I believe there are very important steps we need to take in this regard. Transporting natural gas and delivering it to the necessary destinations is just as important as extracting it,” Taçoy said.

“This is precisely where we see how strategic it is to establish the pipeline that will enable the flow of natural gas between the TRNC and the Republic of Turkey,” Taçoy said, adding that the project would not only be a step toward fundamentally resolving the country’s electricity problems, but would also provide the most rational route for transporting natural gas extracted from the region.

Taçoy recalled that Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar had also highlighted this aspect, pointing to the interest shown by foreign companies in the construction of the project.

“This shows that the project has not only excited us, but that the international community has also shared this enthusiasm and embraced the project,” Taçoy said.

“We have become accustomed to major projects and set ambitious goals thanks to our Motherland,” Taçoy said, emphasizing that the natural gas pipeline would be a step that would positively change the future not only of the Turkish Cypriot people but of the entire region.

“I would like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude, on behalf of myself and my country, to everyone who has contributed to and approved every stage of the project,” Taçoy said.