Arikli announces Pentadaktylos tunnel plan

The north’s ‘transport minister’ Erhan Arikli has announced his intention to dig a tunnel under the Pentadaktylos mountain range for road traffic.

Speaking to Turkish television, he said the aim of such a tunnel would be to “make transportation between Mesaoria and the northern coast easier and safer”.

He added that the issue had been discussed by the north’s ‘cabinet’, and that ‘prime minister’ Unal Ustel had given verbal approval of the project.

He said there are currently two possible routes for the tunnel. The first would see the tunnel built between the village of Dikomo and Kyrenia, and the second possibility is for the tunnel to be routed between the villages of Kythrea and Klepini.

In addition, he said the project was in the “final stages” of planning and that tunnel experts from Turkey had been invited to Cyprus to carry out a study into the tunnel’s feasibility.

He said he estimates the tunnel will cost between $75 million (€69 million) and $100 million (€92 million).