Ilısu Dam
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Ilısu Dam (Turkish: /ɯ.lɯ.su/) is one of the 21 dams of the Southeastern Anatolia Project of Turkey. Located on the Tigris River, it is the largest hydroelectric power plant of the project. It is estimated that the dam will create a reservoir with a maximum volume of 10.4 billion m³ and a surface area of 313 km² creating a power capacity of 1,200 MW and is expected to produce 3,800 GWh of power per year. Construction started on August 5, 2006.[1]
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[edit] Controversy
The Ilısu hydro-electric power project is to be situated on the Tigris river, 65 km upstream from the border with Syria and Iraq. With a planned capacity of 1,200 MW, it will be the largest hydro-electric project in Turkey. The project, costing an estimated $2 billion, will be built by an international consortium, led by Swiss company Sulzer Hydro. The groundbreaking ceremony was on August 5, 2006 led by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.[1] The KHRP also states that:
The town is of particular cultural significance to the Kurdish people: the delegation found a widespread perception that the GAP project, and Ilısu in particular, is motivated primarily by a desire to destroy the Kurds as an ethnic group by destroying their most important cultural sites.[2]
Alternatively, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, at the ground-breaking ceremony, stated : "The step that we are taking today demonstrates that the south-east is no longer neglected. This dam will bring big gains to the local people." Ankara hopes that the dam - part of a long-term plan to develop the poor, mainly Kurdish region - will create up to 10,000 jobs, irrigate farmlands and attract tourists. The government has promised to compensate local people who will lose their homes and that all the valuable artifacts will be relocated before the dam's completion in 2013.[1]
[edit] See also
- Ilısu Dam Campaign
- Kurdish Human Rights Project
- Cultural genocide
- Three Gorges Dam
- Southeastern Anatolia Project
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Turkey begins controversial dam, August 5, 2006, BBC News
- ^ The Ilisu Dam – A Human Rights Disaster In The Making on khrp.org
[edit] External links
- http://www.hasankeyfgirisimi.com Initiative to Keep Hasankeyf Alive - affected peoples organization
- http://www.stopilisu.com International Ilisu Dam Campaign
- Ilısu Consortium Official Web Site
- www.gap.gov.tr - Official GAP web site – English
- http://www.dsi.gov.tr DSI - State Water Works - Implementiong body of Ilisu Dam in Turkey
- Ilisu Hydroelectric Project on PBS.org
- "Turkey dam project back to haunt Kurds", by Laura Smith-Spark - BBC News
- http://hasankeyfesadakat.kesfetmekicinbak.com/ Nature Association (Doga Dernegi) page on Ilisu/Hasankeyf
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