Turkey's highest dam to be built after much ambiguity

ARTVİN - Anatolia News Agency

Turkey’s highest dam is to be built in the Black Sea province of Artvin along with a hydroelectric power plant (HES), after years of uncertainty.

The construction of the dam and HES in the Yusufeli district of Artvin, suspended for nearly 40 years, begins today. The Ministry of Forestry and Water Affairs and the consortium, led by Limak Holding, signed an agreement on Oct. 22 to build Turkey’s first dam and HES financed only by local sources.

Yusufeli dam will be 270 meters, the highest in Turkey, and will have 2.2 billion metercubes of annual storage volume. The HES plans to generate 1.8 billion megawatts of energy per year. It is slated to satisfy the electricity demands of 750,000 houses.

Dam to earn 330 mln liras

The project will cost around 486 million Turkish Liras and aims to contribute 330 million liras to the state economy every year.

The Yusufeli district, where 6,850 people live, will be flooded to accommodate the dam project. The mayor of Yusufeli, Eyüp Aytekin, said residents would be relocated to a new settlement that was recently determined.

He also said the dam would create new sources of income, such as fishing and alternative tourism, like surface sports.