Turkish PM launches 112 projects on 12.12.12
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Top officials launch a big water system along with other giant projects. AA photo
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated “112 giant projects” by the Forestry and Waterworks Ministry on 12-12-2012, saying they served the whole nation and all the projects reached the entire country.“We are bringing service to every corner of Turkey. We are not pursuing a policy based on identity. We are pursuing politics of service. We do not polarize people, we do not alienate or marginalize anyone as some people do,” Erdoğan said at a ceremony held at the Ankara Volleyball Arena.
The 112 projects include 49 hydroelectric plants in 29 cities, dams, irrigation systems, potable water refinement systems and flood prevention facilities, Erdoğan said, adding that the cost of the projects has been 16 billion Turkish Liras ($8.9 billion).
“Thanks to these 112 projects, we will be able to irrigate 2.34 million decares [2,340 square kilometers] of land. Turkey will gain 8.4 billion kilowatt hours of electricity generated.” He said 614 million cubic meters of potable water would be made available for 8 million people in seven cities including Istanbul and 1.54 square kilometers of land in Şanlıurfa would be protected from flooding.
Istanbul will not have any potable water problem till 2040 with these projects, Erdoğan said.
Stating that Deriner Hydroelectric Plant constructed on the Çoruh river is among the 112 projects, Erdoğan described the plant as “an engineering marvel.” The Deriner Plant will produce 6 percent of Turkey’s hydroelectric power, Erdoğan added.
Dam named after Parliament Speaker Çiçek
Erdoğan announced that the Musabeyli Dam in Yozgat would be named “Cemil Çiçek Dam,” to pay tribute to Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek, whose hometown is Yozgat.
Forestry and Waterworks Minister Veysel Eroğlu, meanwhile, proposed giving Erdoğan’s name to Yusufeli Dam, which will be Turkey’s deepest dam when completed. “Yusufeli Dam will be deeper than Deriner Dam when completed. This dam should be named ‘Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Dam’ because this project will be solely our own project financed by Turkey’s internal funds,” Eroğlu said.
Tallest dam in operation
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Deriner, the world’s sixth tallest arch dam and the tallest in Turkey, was opened by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as one of 112 new facilities that were unveiled yesterday.
Deriner, which sits on the Çoruh River in the Black Sea province of Artvin, will meet 6 percent of Turkey’s hydroelectric needs, according to officials.
The construction of the 249-meter-high dam began in 1998. Its annual electrical generation capacity is nearly 2.12 million kWh, which equates to the annual needs of 685,000 people. The $1.4 billion investment has a seven-year payback period.