Chapter 644 Southeast Anatolia Project

GAP, the Southeast Anatolia Project, is abbreviated as GAP. This project was proposed by the National Water Conservancy Project Directorate, the main agency of the Turkish government for national water resources planning, engineering construction and operation. It is a basin-wide development project based on water resources development. It includes the construction of a series of dams on the Euphrates and Tigris rivers for irrigation and power generation.

The climate in the area where the project is located is hot and dry, with an average altitude of 1,500-2,000 meters. The landforms are mainly mountainous, and basins and plains formed by river erosion. After the completion of the GAP project, regional water transfer can be achieved through water diversion channels and tunnels, which can provide a large amount of water for the central and eastern regions every year, alleviating the water pressure in economically developed areas.

As the country's main natural resource development agency, the State Water Resources Engineering Administration is responsible for managing all state-owned surface and groundwater resources and some public lands. They have long been eyeing the convenience of these two rivers and have already planned this project, which includes 22 dams, 19 hydropower stations, a total installed capacity of 7,476MW, an annual power generation of 27,345GWh, and an irrigation area of ​​1.693 million square kilometers.

Such a large hydropower project is a major event that will benefit the entire country of Turkey! For example, if the power station is fully built, more than half of the country's electricity can be generated by this hydropower station, which is very important for Turkey, which is short of resources. At the same time, the increased water source for irrigating the land can also allow Turkey's grain production to continue to increase and become an emerging grain exporter.

However, this project has been proposed for many years but has never been implemented. Even in later generations, only three dams and two hydropower stations have been built, with an installed capacity of 3,200MW, an electricity generation of 16,254GWh, and an irrigation area of ​​36,945 square kilometers, which is quite different from the plan.

Among these, in addition to the issue of funding sources, the most important thing is the strong opposition from other countries, namely Iraq and Syria!

The Euphrates and Tigris rivers are the cradles of Middle Eastern civilization. The ancient Middle Eastern civilization was born in the two river basins. These rivers originate in the mountains of eastern Turkey, less than 80 kilometers apart, and flow southeast through northern Syria and Iraq and into the Persian Gulf.

If the Turks develop hydropower projects at the source of the two rivers, they can get all the benefits, including hydropower and irrigation. However, their excessive use of the water in the rivers will inevitably lead to a decrease in the amount of water in the lower reaches of the rivers, or even dry up! In this case, Turkey in the upper reaches will eat meat, while Syria and Iraq in the lower reaches will have to eat meat.

Therefore, when Türkiye proposed such a project, Syria and Iraq expressed firm opposition. If Türkiye wanted to build such a hydropower project, it would undoubtedly be declaring war on Syria and Türkiye!

Therefore, although Türkiye has planned it countless times, it has never implemented it. But now, the situation is different!

One of the biggest opposition countries, Iraq, is in a state of war! Saddam was killed in the war, and the Iraqi government forces are losing ground. So, at this time, even if the Iraqis oppose, they have no substantive actions to oppose Türkiye! What's so scary about a government that is about to perish?

As for the Kurds? What right do they have to speak now? They have not yet won the Iraq War with the United States and shared the fruits of the war! Even if the Kurds raised objections, they have no right!

As for the United States? This is Turkey's internal affairs. The United States should not interfere too much, right? Turkey has joined NATO and has to listen to the United States in military matters, but in terms of political affairs, Turkey has the right to make its own choices.

Therefore, Turkey's hydropower project faces little resistance, and only Syria remains! Syria's current focus is still on the confrontation with Israel, which is the real enemy. Without Iraq's joint advance, Syria will at most make verbal denunciations and will not resort to force.

In this way, Türkiye can take advantage of this opportunity to completely build the hydropower station! After the construction of this hydropower station, it will play a great role in promoting Türkiye's economic development!

Moreover, Evren felt that only this would be satisfying, after all, the United States had wronged Turkey too much! Doing this would also be considered disgusting to the United States, and the Americans could only let this situation go. Humph!

The recent actions of the United States have really disappointed Turkey. They are doing this now for their own national interests.

"General, if we invest now, the country may not be able to come up with much money for the investment because there is no advance plan." At this time, an aide said to Efren.

This large-scale water conservancy project cannot be built just by saying it can be built. If the project is fully implemented, the investment required is astronomical, equivalent to Turkey's GDP for several years. It is so huge that it cannot be built just by saying it can be built.

"We can attract private investment, or investment from other countries, and then promise profits for ten years," Efren said.

Although he was born in the military, Evren still had a keen political insight. Now this opportunity must be seized. The hydropower project must be fully launched as soon as possible, so other ways of investment are needed, especially from other countries! In this way, this project can be turned into an international project. If Syria and Iraq want to oppose it, they will also become opponents of several developed countries in the world.

"Yes." The aide replied, this is indeed a solution.

In the international struggle, it is not just the military struggle, the economic and political struggles are more important!

………

An unknown hill on the border between Iran and Türkiye.

The surrounding area is full of rolling mountains. This geographical location determines that it is easy to defend but difficult to attack. As long as there is a small number of guerrillas, it can cause a great impact. Fighting in such a mountainous area is a headache for all armies.

Among them, many mountains are still undeveloped, and the lush trees have turned this place into a unique landscape of nature. At this time, although the border is tense and a war may break out at any time, this place still has the tranquility of nature.

A group of people were walking in the woods, stepping on fallen dead branches. They were fully armed and highly alert. They were wearing Kurdish national costumes and headscarves. The one leading them had thick eyebrows, a very thick moustache, and bright eyes.