Syrian reconstruction ‘will benefit Turkey’

GAZİANTEP - Anatolia News Agency

DHA photo

Turkish provinces close to Syria, such as Adıyaman, Kilis and Gaziantep, will play a very significant role in the reconstruction of Turkey’s unsettled southern neighbor, according to Turkish Development Minister Cevdet Yılmaz.

The economic consequences of the reconstruction process will be seen in the middle term, Yılmaz said yesterday, speaking at a third meeting to revise the “Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) Action Plan.” The first two meetings were held in the southeastern provinces of Diayrbakır and Mardin.

Southeastern Anatolia has witnessed significant development thanks to basic infrastructure projects including irrigation, Yılmaz said, adding that an action plan was put in place in 2008 to complete a major part of the projects under GAP and stimulate economic and social progress.

The share of the GAP in the general budget has doubled to 14 percent, Yılmaz said. The total area of land irrigated under the project has hit 3,700,000,000 square meters, and the construction of the main canals will be largely completed by the end of the year.