The Salvation Bridge | mustafaniyazi

Kurtuluş Köprüsü
(The Salvation Bridge)

22 June 2023

Mustafa Niyazi

MPhil International Relations

Founder & Chief Editor of Cyprus Profile

The island of Cyprus already receives an uninterrupted and sustainable flow of fresh water as a result of the Türkiye-TRNC undersea water project which today pumps 75 million cubic metres (m3) of water per annum through the roughly 80km-106km long undersea pipeline from Türkiye.

The pipeline, built by the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Water Supply Project from 2011 to 2015, starts from Anamur, Mersin in Türkiye, passes through the Eastern Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 280m and ends in Geçitköy, Northern Cyprus.

Now the long-standing vision to transport electricity via a similar undersea interconnector cable is also becoming a reality.

With a scheduled completion date slated for 2028-2029, it will make the transportation of cost-effective, high-quality and sustainable electricity from Türkiye to the TRNC via an undersea interconnector cable a reality.

The political framework for its completion and implementation has also been slowly pieced together through numerous protocols and agreements.

First the TRNC and Türkiye signed a number of energy protocols - some of them from 2016 - which repeatedly foresaw the construction of an undersea electricity cable link between the two countries.

Then just this month it was revealed that the project for a submarine electricity cable to run to the island from the mainland was prospected to be technically ready, while the presidents of both countries met and signed a clearly timelined protocol.

According to the calendar there is going to be 1 year of planning, 3 years of construction and 1 year of laying, and the entire project is expected to cost roughly $400 million (₺10.4 billion) which is to be financed by the Republic of Türkiye, and upon completion it will bring 0.8 gigawatts (800 megawatts) of electricity to the island.

With the recent developments in the TRNC’s education, tourism, industrial, communication and transportation sectors as well as key diplomatic and geopolitical developments, the revitalisation of key air and sea routes connecting the two countries, and now the transportation of energy, the next most logical question is: what next? What is the next most logical infrastructure project for the two countries?

I would argue that this has to be the construction of a roughly 70km bridge connecting Cyprus to Türkiye.

And I would like to call this the “Salvation Bridge” or Kurtuluş Köprüsü in Turkish.

This is only the most natural follow up to the waterway project that Türkiye already extended to the island in 2015 and the new electricity project pinned for completion by 2029, as well as ongoing work for a natural gas pipeline.

But is this project viable? How could the TRNC and Türkiye benefit from building such a bridge? Is it even possible to build a 70km bridge? Are there any reasons as to why it would not be possible? Is it economically rewarding and viable enough to even consider building? What type of bridge would it be? Where would it begin and where would it end? What infrastructure and systems would need to be in place on each side of the Turkish-Turkish Cypriot strait?

The short answer to most of these questions is already positive.

Currently we already know that the construction of such bridges is possible. We also know that such bridges already exist.

We have the 19km bridge connecting Crimea with Russia, the 55km Hong Kong - Zhuhai - Macao bridge, currently the longest sea bridge in the world. There’s also the double 38km (76km) Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge(s) in the US state of Louisiana.

We also know that besides the construction of a very long suspension bridge other similar options also exist.

A rail tunnel, a bridge-and-tunnel link, a combined rail-and-road link… we omitted mentioning the Channel Tunnel just now, a 50km rail tunnel between England and France that runs beneath the English Channel, giving it the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in the world at 37.8km, and at a depth ranging from 45m to 172m.

And we’ll speak more on that later.

We know that the continuous development of bridge and tunnel construction technologies, large-scale sea-crossing bridges and tunnels have gradually become the preferred choice for regional traffic in many regions around the globe.

If we take another example, the already mentioned Hong Kong - Macao - Zhuhai bridge (HZMB), we can find multiple invaluable highlights into what goes into the construction of a modern sea-crossing channel, particularly one of a massive scale.

In particular we can observe and learn from the problems of sea-crossing bridge and tunnel pavement construction and methods to overcome them, how guss-mastic asphalt (GMA) can be adopted to ensure reliability and efficiency, the application of warm-mix and flame retardants in a submersed tunnel, how seamless expansion joints can be improved to accommodate greater deformation.

Going back again to the Channel Tunnel, to see the process that took as well as get a scope for the timeline of a potential cross-strait bridge project, we can observe that from planning to financing to construction to opening it took 8 years. Planning, proposals and funding in 1986. Digging from 1987–88 to 1991. It was then officially opened on 6 May 1994.

In terms of how it functions as a method of travel and how this can be applied to a Turkish-Turkish Cypriot bridge, it allows passengers to travel either by ordinary rail or within their own motor vehicles, which are loaded onto special railcars. Trains can then travel at speeds as high as 160km per hour, giving the 50km trip a total travel time of 35 minutes.

We can also observe how the integration with roads and other mobility networks can be expanded, where years later in 2007, a 108km high speed rail link was also constructed from Dover to London, with a maximum speed of 300km per hour, facilitating even greater movement of traffic between France, the Europe political whole, and the United Kingdom.

Given modern technologies and advancements as well as the political structures of Türkiye and Cyprus, as well as their close alignment and cooperation, this process is likely to be just as streamlined, and planning for future possible connections can also be fast-forwarded, or at least considered during the planning and proposal stages.

We also know that Türkiye itself has the resources, technology, infrastructure and manpower in place to provide for the planning, design, funding and construction of such a project.

On the economic side of things, and looking into the projected and gained benefits of building such an interconnectivity project between Türkiye and Cyprus, we can also see how this could also allow for:

• Closer integration and freedom of movement.

• Connection to major Turkish road and railway networks, allowing you to get to most major Turkish cities from Cyprus, and visa versa.

• Possibility to reach Türkiye and the TRNC’s major tourism areas like Antalya and Girne as well as the major cities like İstanbul and Lefkoşa without flying.

• Affordable, fast and secure way to travel.

• Fast, frequent and reliable route accounting for potentially millions in trade and thousands of passengers each year.

• Changing the way transport and logistics operate between the two countries and people.

Besides this level of integration, the construction of a road or rail traffic link would also support long-ongoing efforts to support the development, autonomy and security of the island.

In addition, if combined with other infrastructure projects and correctly applied and supported after all the necessary calculations have been made, it also further prepares the TRNC to be in a position to be able to take on the role of a key player in the region, with the potential and capacity to act as a vital artery of trade for many of the world’s largest economies, and in a location that sees a high concentration of commercial goods flowing, especially through Türkiye and what would then be a transcontinentally connected island of Cyprus, putting them at the forefront of the balance of maritime trade in the region.

We also know that the construction of a bridge connecting Türkiye to the TRNC would also strongly benefit the two countries both politically and economically.

In particular, the political stability of the island is being cited by Türkiye “as the basic condition that is necessary for a functioning economy”.

The inclusion of the TRNC in the “Century of Türkiye” vision, and the inception of the jointly earmarked “Century of TRNC” vision, is testament to the numerous strides and important breakthroughs made in the last 20 years and which have been underpinned by strong joint efforts to protect their interests and vision for a prosperous future in the region.

There have also been engagements between the President of the TRNC, Ersin Tatar and the Vice President of the Republic of Türkiye, Cevdet Yılmaz, where they discussed a number of projects which in theory could support the TRNC as a centre of attraction through different infrastructure, industrial and energy-related projects.

The construction of a bridge could also support this vision.

And as we mentioned the political benefits, this cannot be mentioned without also paying due attention to the fact that the first visit abroad of the newly re-elected President of the Republic of Türkiye, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was to the TRNC, that his first signing of a document following his re-election was in relation to the TRNC, and that the first visit abroad of the Turkish Vice President, Cevdet Yılmaz, was also to the TRNC.

This not only speaks volumes of the importance shown by Türkiye to Cyprus, but also to the benefits of constructing a bridge connecting the two.

Finally (for now), if we consider the construction of a Türkiye-TRNC bridge as a project of connecting “one people, one nation” by land with huge bridges, and of realising a 500-year-old dream of geographical unity, both countries would also be benefitting from what would also become a natural response to the challenges of both domestic and international skepticism as well as the ambiguously motivated polarisations surrounding the nature of the political, social, cultural and economic relationship(s) between the two countries.

The more we face the games outside with the unity inside, the end of this path would be set: salvation

Here’s what we likely need to do:

(1) Establish a team and give them the task, provide a commission of experts, scientists, assessors, engineers, construction workers, surveyors etc

(2) Study the Need for a Cross Turkish-Turkish Cypriot Strait Bridge

This could be based on the development of Turkish-Turkish Cypriot social, cultural, trade, tourism, energy etc relations… the feasibility of linking Türkiye and the TRNC through such a bridge, the projected growth and geopolitical importance, socio-economic viabilities etc… a study on the social and private profitability of the project… models on the competitive process in the cross-strait market and assessing the impact of the bridge on prices and demand…

(3) Conduct a Traffic Assessment for Bridge Construction to decide number of lanes, basic design parameters, traffic composition (light or heavy vehicles, addition of train tracks?), benefits acquired by both Turkish and Turkish Cypriot society etc

(4) Submit a Location Study for Bridge Construction. This should include where the bridge will start/stop (my suggestion: two non-residential, non-touristic, typically low-traffic areas), the need for any central supports, how many there should be i.e. every xx kilometres, what form they should take, the alignment of the bridge to roads in Türkiye (left hand drive, right side of the road) and the TRNC (right hand drive, left side of the road), what will be on each side (e-border checkpoints, Japanese highway style entry/exit gates/booths etc)…

(5) Do a reconnaissance survey for Bridge Construction

(6) Get a team of engineers to conduct a study on Preliminary Engineering. This should include details on the total length of the bridge, anticipated traffic, expected construction time, the nature of the sea and it’s effects on the bridge, construction problems, maintenance plans, impact on the environment, cost-benefit-ratio

(7) Submit a detailed Project Report and Plan with all the ground surveys, foundation details, hydrological data, model studies and analyses etc thus far.

Throughout all of this there will also be the need to present a number of different proposals, and to acquire planning and construction permission, as well as investment.

Disclaimer: I’m not an expert. I’m not an architect. I’m not a bridge specialist and I’m not a designer of any type of buildings. I’m also not rich enough to just say: “Hey, I have an idea!” and then throw my money at it and say “Make it happen.” I really don’t know if my attempts at establishing procedure here are correct nor do I know if they are compatible with the processes for such infrastructure projects between Türkiye and the TRNC. In addition, I also think the TRNC still needs to become a better place for both starting and building a business etc and be more attractive for investors than it currently is for something like this to reach its full potential. For reference my name is Mustafa Niyazi. I’m just a regular person with regular ideas. I also know that even if this bridge doesn’t get constructed right now, getting the blueprints ready, and for them to be rediscovered and to contribute to this island in the future, that in itself makes this a project worth investing in. But most importantly, I know that change cannot happen unless we make it happen; change cannot happen if we don’t give it the blueprints, backing and perspiration for success. If we want change, then we have to be methodical.

Image Credits: AI Generated by “Wonder” APP. Typed Prompt: “70km bridge across the Mediterranean Sea connecting Turkey with the island of Cyprus”

#Cyprus #Kıbrıs #Türkiye #Turkey #Bridge

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (President of Türkiye)

Hakan Fidan (Türkiye Foreign Minister)

Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat (Türkiye Trade Minister)

Metin Feyzioğlu (Türkiye Ambassador to TRNC)

Ersin Tatar (President of TRNC)

Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu (TRNC Foreign Minister)

Fikri Ataoğlu (TRNC Minister of Tourism and Environment)

Ünal Üstel (TRNC Prime Minister)

Dr. Faiz Sucuoğlu (Ex-TRNC Prime Minister)

Kudret Özersay (also: Kudret Özersay, Ex-TRNC Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs)