By Bosphorus News Energy Desk
Türkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus have signed a memorandum to develop a 101-kilometre natural gas pipeline connecting the Turkish mainland with the island, moving a long-discussed project into a formal implementation phase.
The memorandum was signed at the TRNC Parliament in Nicosia by Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz and TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel during a ceremony hosted by Parliament Speaker Ziya Öztürkler.
Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and ministers from both governments also attended the July 10 ceremony.
The planned transmission system will run from Anamur in Türkiye's southern Mersin province to the Teknecik power-generation area in Northern Cyprus.
Bayraktar said the project would comprise approximately 101 kilometres of infrastructure, including 97 kilometres beneath the Mediterranean and four kilometres on land.
Two separate pipelines, each measuring 22 inches in diameter, are planned under the current engineering design.
The engineering phase is expected to be completed by the end of 2026, with commissioning targeted for 2028.
The memorandum advances a project that Bosphorus News previously examined as both an energy-supply link for Northern Cyprus and a possible future route for Eastern Mediterranean gas through Türkiye to Europe.
A pipeline designed for two-way flows
The immediate purpose of the project is to reduce Northern Cyprus's dependence on imported fuel oil for electricity generation.
Türkiye has supplied the fuel oil required by Northern Cyprus through state-owned companies since 2021 and has deployed seven mobile electricity units with a combined installed capacity of 175 megawatts.
Natural gas delivered through the pipeline is expected to be used by power-generation facilities in the Teknecik area.
Bayraktar said the system would also allow gas to flow in the opposite direction.
If commercially viable reserves are discovered in the Eastern Mediterranean, the pipelines could carry gas from the island to Türkiye and onward through Türkiye's network to European markets.
That reverse-flow capability gives the project a function beyond domestic supply.
It supports Türkiye's argument that Eastern Mediterranean gas could reach Europe through its existing infrastructure rather than through longer offshore routes that exclude the Turkish network.
The project is not yet an operational alternative to the proposed EastMed pipeline connecting Israel, Cyprus and Greece.
No confirmed gas source, transport contract, capacity agreement or investment decision exists for reverse flows from Northern Cyprus.
The design nevertheless keeps that option open.
A route outside European approval mechanisms
The gas pipeline is advancing alongside a separate plan to connect the Turkish and Turkish Cypriot electricity systems through an undersea cable.
Üstel said the electricity interconnector's feasibility work had been completed but that the project was awaiting approval from the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity, or ENTSO-E.
He attributed the delay to pressure from the Greek Cypriot administration.
Üstel contrasted the two projects, saying neither the Greek Cypriot administration nor Europe could block the natural gas pipeline.
Unlike the proposed power interconnector, the gas pipeline can proceed through bilateral agreements between Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot authorities without approval from a European electricity-network body.
A project returning with a revised timetable
The pipeline has been discussed for approximately a decade.
Türkiye and Northern Cyprus signed an energy cooperation protocol in 2016, and Turkish officials later linked the project to an earlier target of delivering gas by 2025.
That schedule was not met.
The project returned to the agenda in May 2026, when Turkish officials announced a revised 2028 target and said engineering work would be completed before the end of the year.
The July memorandum does not mean construction has begun.
It establishes the governmental framework for engineering, route planning and implementation.
Key commercial details have not yet been made public, including the expected cost, annual capacity, financing structure, construction contractor and system operator.
The project will also require decisions on how Northern Cyprus's power-generation fleet will receive and use the gas.
Existing liquid-fuel facilities may require conversion, while any new gas-fired generation would involve separate investment and permitting decisions.
From fuel oil dependence to infrastructure integration
Türkiye has provided more than 8 billion Turkish lira in energy-sector support to Northern Cyprus over the past five years, according to Yılmaz.
More than 560 million lira has been allocated for energy projects in 2026.
The gas pipeline follows earlier infrastructure projects linking Türkiye and Northern Cyprus, including the freshwater pipeline, road construction and irrigation investments.
The planned electricity cable would add another direct energy connection.
The project extends Türkiye's gas-network strategy into the Eastern Mediterranean, adding a southern link to its growing export and transit connections toward Southeast Europe.
Its bidirectional design would allow future regional gas to enter Türkiye's network if commercially viable reserves and transport agreements emerge.
Sources: Anadolu Agency; Republic of Türkiye Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources; statements by Turkish Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar and TRNC Prime Minister Ünal Üstel; Bosphorus News reporting and review.