Uzel: We will turn Cyprus into a digital hub

Fevzi Uzel, Istanbul representative of the Business People’s Association (İŞAD), outlined the Northern Cyprus Technology Base project on KIBRIS TV’s “Güne Yansıyanlar” programme. He said the base will consist of nine separate facilities combining a data centre, software, cyber security, entrepreneurship and technology, and that the project aims to reverse brain drain.

Uzel said the project aims to make Cyprus a strategic hub where digital data routes between Europe, Asia and the Middle East meet. A 22-member IT board has been formed, and contacts have been held in Turkey, including in Ankara. He said the project is to start within six months and be completed in three years, with a legal entity to be set up within a month.

Uzel said the base’s energy needs are expected to be about 20 megawatts and that energy and fibre-optic infrastructure are critical to the project. He said cooling challenges for data centres linked to the climate could be overcome with seawater and other technologies.