GAP OVERVIEW
(The Project that covers all southeastern region) The Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP) is a massive $32 billion public project to harness the power and potential of the upper reaches of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and to irrigate the fertile plains that lie between them. When completed in 2010, 21 dams and 17 hydroelectric power plants will produce approximately 22% of Turkey’s projected electricity requirements, equivalent to the entire national energy consumption in 1988. The Ataturk Dam, the sixth largest rock filled dam in the world, is the key structure for the development of the Lower Euphrates River region.

Completed in 1993, it presently generates 8.9 billion kWh in electricity and is responsible for opening more than 180,000 acres of farmland to irrigation in the Harran plain. The new irrigation systems created by the GAP will double Turkey’s irrigable farmland in a region which has traditionally suffered from light rainfall. New irrigation has already brought about a corresponding boom in agricultural activity. From just one crop per year, in many areas five crops in a two-year cycle have become or will soon be possible. Crop yields of cotton, wheat, barley, lentils and other grains have reportedly tripled in the Harran plain as a result of irrigation from the Ataturk Dam. Land values have risen rapidly.

Family income, number of personal vehicles and number of tractors in the region have nearly tripled in the past eight years. The range of new products under cultivation is also expanding. Farmers are now experimenting with new varieties of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. But the Southeastern Anatolia Project encompasses more than dams and tunnels. The purpose of the GAP is to eliminate disparities in the levels of development existing between this region and other regions of Turkey by raising income levels and living standards of the people who live in Southeastern Turkey. The GAP is a fully integrated development project designed to create economic and social opportunities with the full support of the Turkish government.

While dams and irrigation tunnels are being constructed, the Government of Turkey promotes business development through industrial zones in each of the provincial capitals in the GAP region. It is training farmers in the most sustainable and economical land use practices; building airports and highways to ensure sufficient infrastructure for market development; and building schools and other institutions to raise the economic and social standards of the six million people who live in the region. The Government’s stated goal is to increase the income level in the region five-fold and generate employment opportunities for 3.5 million people.

The GAP region consists of eight provinces in Southeastern Anatolia: Adiyaman, Batman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Siirt, Sanliurfa, Mardin and Sirnak. Of these, Gaziantep, Sanliurfa and Diyarbakir are now particularly poised to welcome U.S. direct foreign investment and expanded trade opportunities. In addition, the nearby provinces of Adana and Mersin, both outstanding growing areas with access to major population centers and the Mediterranean Sea, merit strong consideration for U.S. firms contemplating an investment in the region. Kahramanmaras, like Gaziantep and Sanliurfa, has exploited new investment in the region to become an industrial power. Finally, Malatya, a major growing area with solid infrastructure and a dynamic municipal. government, is ready. to welcome new business activity.