Marina to be built in area of Varosha, TC press reports say

A marina for yachts and related facilities will be set up in the area of the fenced-off town of Varosha in the Famgusta area in the north, Turkish Cypriot press reported on Wednesday.

Avrupa newspaper said it was a decision of the ‘cabinet’ and had been published in the ‘official gazette’ on Monday.

According to the front-page article, the construction will be done under the BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer).

Avrupa claims the project is likely to be given to a Turkish company. It did not say where exactly the marina would be built other than in the area of Varosha.

Recently Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar said ‘Fenced-off Varosha’ is no more as that is its old name and instead it is now open.

He said over 400,000 people had now visited the city since its ‘opening’.

Tatar was referring to an October announcement which saw 3.5 per cent of Varosha, around five square kilometres, reclassified and demilitarised – opening it for settlement on a pilot basis.

He has previously vowed that the Turkish Cypriot side would not stop “until every last square metre” of Varosha was reopened.

Select parts of Varosha were initially reopened in October 2020, a move which later led the Cyprus government to rescind the Cyprus Republic passports of 14 Turkish Cypriots, including Tatar.