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Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP)
The
Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), which was initiated
in 1976 as a large-scale and multisectoral regional development
project of Turkey, is one of the biggest of its kind in
the world. It is a combination of 13 major projects, primarily
for hydropower generation and irrigation, planned by the
State Hydraulic Works (DSI).
The project involves the construction of
22 dams and 19 hydroelectric plants on the Euphrates and
Tigris rivers and their tributaries. GAP will provide irrigation
for 1.7 million hectares of land, corresponding to one fifth
of irrigable land in Turkey, and 27 billion kWh of electricity
will be generated annually with an installed capacity of
over 7,500 MW, accounting for 22% of the country's economically
viable hydropower potential.
As an integrated development project, in
addition to hydropower and irrigation schemes, it also covers
all the related social and economic sectors including industry,
transportation, mining, telecommunications, health, education,
tourism and social infrastructure, making the Southeastern
Anatolia Project a top priority among national projects
of Turkey.
A view of the Atatьrk Dam from the space. Courtesy of
NASA
Atatьrk Dam
Benefits of GAP
GAP is invaluable to the future of the
world's agricultural needs for the following reasons:
- It has the potential to avert mass starvation covering
1.7 million hectares of prime farmland, thus a potential
to meet food demand;
- As pests worldwide now destroy an estimated 13% of the world's food production
each year, such a project would boost productivity;
- GAP areas represent about 5% of the global land area available for new production
of cereals, the consumption of which will rise from about
1.8 billion metric tons to 2.5 billion within 20 years;
- GAP represents an area equivalent to 50% of the developing world's potential
land which is currently under dry cultivation and could
be placed under irrigation, and represents almost 10%
of the total area available for new irrigation outside
India;
- Hectare-per-hectare, in terms of proximity to markets and in terms of land
fertility and water availability, there is little in the
world comparable in promise to the region defined by the
GAP project;
- The Atatьrk Dam and Hydroelectric Plant, the largest
in Turkey and the sixth largest in the world, is situated
in the town of Sanli Urfa. The Atatьrk Dam, which is the
major foundation of the Southeastern Anatolia Project,
is important not only for energy production but also for
irrigation.
- The water obtained from the reservoirs of the Atatьrk Dam on the Euphrates
is carried to the Harran plain in the Sanli Urfa Tunnel
System. This system is the largest in the world in terms
of its length (26.4 kilometres x 7.62 metres wide) and
its flow rate. The water will be distributed to the vast
cropland on the southeastern Anatolian plains from central
and sides channels, bringing prosperity to the region.
GAP is timely for the following reasons:
- both the quantity and quality of food in global demand
is on the increase now;
- Dennis Avery, the former chief agricultural economist
for the U.S. state Department, who now heads the Global
Food Policy Institute said, "We are on the eve of the
greatest farming opportunity in history and it's precisely
at that moment that Turkey is creating a new California",
(referring to the California Central Valley, an area of
irrigated land which is 25% smaller that the GAP region
and which now produces more than $12 billion in primary
crop values annually);
"Turkey can and should be one of the major players in food
production in the next century" (Dennis Avery)
The Ilisu Dam
The Ilisu Dam is part of the Southeastern
Anatolia Project (GAP) and is currently the largest hydropower
project in Turkey and is located on the Tigris river. It
will create a reservoir with a maximum volume of 10.4 billion
m3 and a surface area of 313 km2. The Ilisu power station
will have a capacity of 1,200 MW and is expected to produce
3,800 GWh of power per year.
The GAP Project has led to a vast increase
in food production, tripling output of several crops. It
stimulates the economy in the south east and helps generate
employment. It also provides electrical power which is badly
needed in the south east. It is the key to the regeneration
and economic advance of an entire area, but also to Turkey's
effort to develop its economy to a point where it can give
all its 65 million citizens the benefits of life enjoyed
by citizens of advanced industrial economies in western
Europe.
There has been much press coverage of the
Ilisu Dam Project, some of it controversial. Above you may
find out what the real implications are for Turkey as a
whole, for the people of the area and for the future of
the region.
Frequently Asked Questions about the Ilisu Dam
Will the Ilisu Dam
not negatively affect people living people in the area?
If the project did not go ahead, it would deny the
people power, jobs and economic progress.
Will it not mean resettling
15 towns and about 15,000 people?
Only one township will be flooded and that only partially.
Those people who have to be resettled will get financial
compensation and, if they want it, fresh land elsewhere.
They will be well looked after.
Will the dam also
mean the loss of part of Turkey's archaeological heritage,
the town of Hasankeyf?
Turkey is a land with a huge archaeological heritage. There
are ancient cities everywhere and almost every project involves
one. There are, of course, rescue teams at work at Hasankeyf,
of which only a part of the ancient town will be flooded.
What is said to people
who call this an immoral and dangerous project?
It is more immoral to deprive people of energy and water
to which they are entitled and to keep a relatively backward
province poor.
One should not ignore the huge
benefits in jobs, irrigation, energy, cheap food and increased
prosperity which the Southeastern Antolian Project
has already created. It is a miracle of our times and an
achievement of which our country is rightly very proud.
Why are there objections to utilising a
clean source of energy like hydropower? Unlike fossil fuels,
it involves no pollution.
It should also be pointed out that these
objections do not just apply to Ilisu. They would apply
to all hydropower projects everywhere. None of them or very
few could go ahead.
Why have there been
so many objections?
These come from people who know little or nothing about
south east Anatolia and its problems and opportunities.
I think they are lobbying against Turkey because they have
a prejudice against the country.
If the objections
are successful, does this mean the end of the project?
Probably not. It will cause a delay and it will perhaps
become more expensive to finance. They will be depriving
south east Anatolia of a golden opportunity for economic
development and of forcing the people of Turkey to pay more
for this investment.
What about the argument
that this dam could cause war in the Middle East?
This is ridiculous. The reservations of Iraq about the GAP
Project are well known, but we certainly do everything we
can to guarantee a steady and strong flow of water to the
country. Syria is not really affected by the Ilisu Dam as
the Tigris flows only past a short section of its eastern
frontier. Ilisu is not an irrigation dam. No water will
be taken out of the river. Just as much water will reach
the population via the dam as they are receiving anyway.
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