By Bosphorus News Energy Desk
Türkiye says offshore work is under way on its planned natural gas pipeline to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), with foreign companies now showing interest in participating in construction of the 101-kilometer Anamur-Teknecik project.
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar gave the update in New York during the 19th Türkiye Investment Conference, saying work at sea had begun and international companies were interested in the construction process, although he did not identify any of the companies, announce a contractor or provide details on procurement.
The remarks take the project beyond the political commitments announced over the summer, but they do not establish that pipe-laying has started because Türkiye has yet to announce an engineering, procurement and construction contractor or a final construction contract.
From Surveys to Construction Preparations
Türkiye and the Turkish Cypriot government signed a memorandum on natural gas supplies on July 10 for a system consisting of two parallel 22-inch pipelines running from Anamur on Türkiye's Mediterranean coast to Teknecik in northern Cyprus.
The planned system is approximately 101 kilometers long, with 97 kilometers offshore and four kilometers on land, and Bayraktar said in July that the two lines would be designed for bidirectional operation so gas could initially move from Türkiye to the island and later, if supplies become available, move in the opposite direction toward Türkiye and onward to Europe.
The latest announcement follows offshore survey activity during the summer. Bosphorus News examined Turkish navigational warnings and research activity associated with the project and found that the notices covered survey and underwater preparatory work, without showing that construction had begun along the full route.
Bayraktar's latest comments confirm continued activity at sea, but no contractor, construction schedule or pipe-laying vessel has been publicly announced.
Foreign Companies Show Interest
Bayraktar gave no names, and no contract award, consortium structure or procurement timetable has been announced.
Türkiye has presented the pipeline primarily as a way to replace petroleum-based electricity generation in northern Cyprus with natural gas, and the planned infrastructure is also being designed to accommodate possible future gas flows from elsewhere in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Bayraktar repeated in New York that gas discovered in the region could eventually move toward Türkiye through the same system.
The reverse-flow capability was already part of the July design, but no public agreement has committed any existing Cypriot offshore field to the pipeline, and no supply agreement, capacity reservation or connection to a specific discovery has been announced.
Cyprus Challenge Reaches the UN
The Republic of Cyprus Foreign Ministry rejected the July memorandum on the day it was signed, arguing that the planned pipeline infringes the Republic's sovereignty.
The dispute later moved to the United Nations, where the Republic of Cyprus challenged the project and its planned bidirectional design. Bosphorus News examined the legal dispute and the summer survey activity in August.
Türkiye has rejected those objections. Vice President Cevdet Yılmaz said on September 18 that Ankara intended to proceed with the project, reaffirming the bidirectional design and the wider Eastern Mediterranean plan.
The TRNC is recognized only by Türkiye, while the Republic of Cyprus is the internationally recognized state and a member of the European Union.
2028 Target Remains on Record
Bayraktar said in May that engineering work was expected to be completed during 2026 and that Türkiye aimed to put the pipeline into operation in 2028, a timetable that his September remarks did not revise.
Bayraktar's remarks leave the 2028 target unchanged, while the contractor, construction timetable and any link to a specific offshore gas field remain undisclosed.
Sources: Türkiye's Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, Anadolu Agency, Republic of Cyprus Foreign Ministry, Bosphorus News review and reporting.