Information in: Español - Français - Deutsch - Português - Russian - Japanese - Svenska - Italiano - Suomi

Turkey

The Ilisu Dam Turkey: Resettlement and Human Rights Summary of Proposed Presentation to World Commission on Dams

By Kerim Yildiz, Kurdish Human Rights Project
Africa/Middle Eastern Regional Consultation, Cairo December 1999

Relevance to WCD thematic reviews:

* Displacement, resettlement and rehabilitation
* International Trends in project financing (export credit agencies)
* Assessment of electricity supply and demand side management;
* Environment and social assessments for large dams;
* River basins - Institutional framework and management options;
* Regulation, compliance and implementation options;
* Consultation and participatory decision-making;
* Turkey country study.

The proposed Ilisu dam, part of Turkey's South-eastern Anatolian Project (GAP), which has spread a network of dams and power plants across the Kurdish regions of south east Turkey, threatens more Kurdish homes and livelihoods.

The Ilisu hydro-electric power project is to be situated on the Tigris river, 65 km upstream from the border with Syria and Iraq. With a planned capacity of 1,200 MW, it will be the largest hydro-electric project in Turkey. The project, costing an estimated $2 billion, will be built by an international consortium, led by Swiss company Sulzer Hydro. Companies in the consortium include Balfour Beatty (UK), Impregilo (Italy) and Skanska (Sweden). With the World Bank declining to become involved in GAP projects, the financing is to be arranged by the Union Bank of Switzerland, with the Export Credit Agencies of Austria, Germany, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the USA currently considering whether to provide financial support for the project.

Kurdish Human Rights Project
www.khrp.org

World Commission on Dams
www.dams.org