The Mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality (NTM) Cemal Bulutoğluları and the Mayor of the Nicosia Greek Municipality Eleni Mavru came together the other day at lunch. According to the information given by the NTM, the Mayors who came together in a restaurant at Dereboyu, talked especially about the planning of the city and about the capacity increase of the ongoing Haspolat Waste Water Treatment Plant project. 
The Mayor of the Nicosia Turkish Municipality (NTM) Cemal Bulutoğluları denoted that the Mayors should be the only authorized person about the planning of a city and he added that the  multi-headed structure and the authority confusion about the town planning should come to an end. Stating that they exchanged ideas with Mavru about the two sides of Nicosia as a whole city having the same appearance and looking alike in terms of development, Bulutoğluları said that they have the same ideas with the Mayor of Nicosia Greek Municipality, Eleni Mavru. Pointing that the Town Planing Department in southern Nicosia is connected to the Nicosia Greek Municipality and that the development permissions are given by the Municipality, Bulutoğluları stated: “There is a need in the development and arrangement of the city. The authorization about development should be centered in one hand in order for Nicosia to be given different regional functions and for the city to get bigger in a modern and healthy way. So, this should be delegated to the Municipality.” Connoting that they discussed the construction of tall buildings outside the city center of Nicosia, Bulutoğluları stated their thoughts are in line with each other.

Bulutoğluları, pointed out that this kind of  high buildings which consist of important business offices, will increase the prestige of the city  and will also enable the city to improve in a vertical way instead of horizontal. He also connoted that the land will be used efficiently.

 “Town planning is being made by the municipalities in Europe”

Stating that the municipalities have a bigger role in governance in Europe, Eleni Mavru, the Mayor of the Nicosia Greek Municipality, denoted that town planning is under the jurisdiction of the municipalities.

Eleni Mavru pointed out that the municipalities issue the development permits in Europe while emphasizing that it should be the same in Nicosia. Mavru denoted that  they had a very beneficial meeting with Bulutoğluları, and that both of them think in the same way about the development of Nicosia.