The project (SAP, Anadolu Projesi (GAP)) is the largest regional development project of Turkey. It covers altogether 22 dams, 19 hydro-electric power plants and irrigation plants along the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris. After conclusion of the project Turkey thereby will control for 28% of its entire water potential. Up to the year 2010 all work on the project should be final.

Components SAP

SAP was taken into the 1980er in attack and is to open for Euphrates and Tigris the water for economic use. Altogether 22 dams and 19 hydro-electric power plants are to be built.

dam

The dam was first and is the largest of the 22 dams, it accumulates the water of the Euphrates. Its accumulated water is to be led over the two Sanliurfa tunnels on agricultural effective areas to the irrigation. The artificial lake has thereby the surface of the Bodensee. The dam is the third biggest of the world. Nearly a tenth of the energy of the country is produced here.

The dam became an ecological and economic disaster, which remained however to a large extent in the western public unknown. Fifteen years after its opening in the year 1983 it threatened to verschlammen. The soil of the surrounding mountains eroded ever more and slipped in artificial lake. After alarm calls of scientists and the press the Turkish government decided 1998 a reforestation of the slopes approximately around artificial lake. A surface of the size of the Saarland should be With the largest ecological rescue action in the history of Turkey thousands of freiwilligen student the lakeshore with bepflanzten.

The Euphrates barrage weir Birecik lies with Birecik underneath the dam. It serves the agricultural irrigation apart from the generation of current also. It consists 2.5 km of a long dam. The turbines produce a current achievement of 2.5 billion kilowatt-hours per year.

Further dams

The Ilisu dam is the Tigris back-ups and in the proximity to the Iraqi border is built. The dam will be 1820 meters long 135 meters highly and and an area of 313 square kilometers will flood.

The Sanliurfa tunnels are with 26.2 km each length and 7.62 m inside diameters the longest irrigation tunnels of the world. However these two tunnels extract from the Euphrates a quantity of water of 328 m /s. by the Euphrates flow a water volume of approx. 700 m /s. the rivers Euphrates and Tigris lead annually 50 billion m water.

Beside the irrigation of agricultural surfaces and the power generation SAP covers also the building of agricultural and urban infrastructure, forestry, education and the health range. After national planning the project is to be finished 2010 and be cost 32 billion dollar. Since beginning of the project to 2000 14 billion dollar in SAP were invested.

The project covers nine provinces, which are on the surface in the historical waiter Mesopotamien between the two rivers Euphrates and Tigris:

• Adiyaman,
• Batman,
• Diyarbakir,
• Gaziantep,
• Kilis,
• Mardin,
• Siirt,
• Sanliurfa and
• Sirnak

Goals SAP

With the completion of the project several goals are connected, for everything the economic and social development long time in front neglected southeast of Turkey. In this area to a large extent the Kurdish minority lives. By the economic development the government expects also a defusing of the social situation of the Kurds and concomitantly a contribution for the solution of the Kurdish question. Besides the being EN migration and migration from the land are to be reduced from east to west by the development program.

Goals:

• Development the underdeveloped east of Turkey and increase of the standard of living and level of income of the population
• Creation of new jobs within all ranges (service, industry and agriculture)
• Power production and decrease of dependence on the oil
• additional national incomes by the water trade with the neighboring countries and whole the Near East (e.g. Israel)
• Irrigation quilts and development to agricultural effective areas
• Diversification of the agricultural products

• Increase of the export from the region by an export-oriented agricultural produce
• Settlement of industries: In the first stage a settlement of the food processing is planned, afterwards further branches of industry are to follow such as furniture production, textile and chemistry.
• Promotion of the tourism: Development of many historical and archaeological places by the development of the infrastructure (roads, hotel etc.).
• Social transformation: Woman projects, training, educating activities and health achievements

Agriculture

By enormous irrigation plants a surface is to be watered by 1.7 million hectare between the two rivers and be opened in such a way for agricultural use. This surface is larger thereby than the total area of the Benelux countries and corresponds with approx. 75,358 km nine per cent the entire surface of Turkey. With the finishing SAP will roughly double itself the watered surface of Turkey.

However with the production of cotton one expects an increase from at present 150,000 tons on 400.000 tons. Thus the region becomes one of the four most important cultivated areas for cotton. Cotton is to that extent important for Turkey, since its demand for the raw material is larger than the capacity for the covering of the own need. Turkey beside China and other countries ranks already now among the main textile producers of the world.

Beside cotton fields develop however also Pistazien and almond tree plan days, Erdbeer, soy bean and wheat fields and Truthahnfarmen.

The yields of cotton, barley and wheat trebled themselves on the watered surfaces, v.a. in the level around Harran. How admits from the experiences with other buildings of dams became, also the soil salts rise upward and make the soils unfruchtbar after start-up with the ground-water level. Also the awaiting on level was once one of the largest grain chambers of Turkey, but already today are to be salted more than 20% of the irrigation area, in order to be able to be still than cultivation area from use.

Fishery

At present about the establishment of pisciculture farms on the lakes developed again one thinks. On the artificial lakes around the dam a such development at present already appears.

Electricity

The 17 hydro-electric power plants already existing supply Turkey with 8.9 billion kilowatt-hours energy. The group of these 17 hydro-electric power plants belongs to the largest in the world. After the completion the region is to annually produce an energy quantity of 27 billion kw/h.

Current conditions

According to estimates by experts the goal, SAP is to be finished up to the year 2010 of not reaching probably. The completion of some dams is overdue, like e.g. in close proximity to Hatay. The causes for the delay are various. To it belong economic crises, diplomatic problems and the fight against the Kurdish worker's party during the long project time. In the early 90's the project in the wedding between the fights of the Kurdish worker's party and the Turkish army came nearly completely to succumbing and suffered beyond that also setbacks.

A set of economic setbacks led again and again to the fact that the governments closed or at least reduced the money cock for the project.

Besides circumstances had to be clarified legally again and again. This concerned above all expropriations and flooding of historical places.

Articles in category "Stanatolien project"

We found here 7 articles.