Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, made statements regarding transportation and infrastructure projects that Türkiye will undertake in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) on the sidelines of the groundbreaking ceremony for the cloverleaf interchange for the Northern Lefkoşa Ring Road.

Stating that the ongoing construction of the Presidential Complex Access Roads will span 5.2km and meet the standards of divided highways, Uraloğlu explained that these roads will provide access to the Presidential Complex, the Republic’s Assembly, and the National Garden.

He also noted that, through the Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, they have completed a total of 633km of main roads in North Cyprus, including 198km of dual carriage ways and 435km of single-lane roads.

The Turkish Minister stated that the financing provided by Türkiye for the construction and project work of these roads had reached approximately ₺14bn.

Uraloğlu also noted that as of 2024, construction and development work continued on six road projects totalling 378km, with a combined project cost of ₺4.5bn.

Stressing that the New Ercan Airport, inaugurated last year, was one of the most significant investments aimed at transforming the TRNC into a hub of attraction, he said, as part of the project, the new terminal building was expanded six fold to accommodate 10 million passengers, with the possibility of increasing this capacity to 12 million if needed.

Regarding maritime transport between Türkiye and the TRNC, Uraloğlu shared that they recently inaugurated the Anamur Ferry and Seaplane Dock, which facilitates passenger and vehicle transportation from Türkiye to the TRNC, following the Mersin-Gazimağusa, Taşucu-Girne, Mersin-Girne, and Taşucu-Gazimağusa Ro-Ro lines.

He also added that the Anamur-Girne route, now less than two hours long, has become the shortest sea route between the two countries, and passenger services from the dock to Girne Port have commenced.

Explaining that they had also launched the Eastern Mediterranean Vessel Traffic Services System Project, which will be established in the TRNC to enhance activity in the Eastern Mediterranean, Uraloğlu said that this project was expected to be completed by 2026.

“Upon the completion of this project, we will significantly increase the maritime dominance of both our country and the TRNC in the Blue Homeland” Uraloğlu stressed.

Touching upon the ongoing efforts to improve the efficiency and quality of public services in North Cyprus and to facilitate the process of digital transformation, Uraloğlu highlighted that they had implemented a system similar to Türkiye’s e-Government application through the TRNC e-Government Gateway.

He added that they had also established the TRNC Data Centre to meet the information technology service infrastructure needs of public institutions in the TRNC.