Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan publicly commenced the services of 112 forestry and waterworks projects at once on Wednesday. (Photo: İHA, Ahmet Topal)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan inaugurated 112 separate public projects worth $8.96 billion in Ankara on Wednesday -- a day noted for its unique 12.12.2012 -- at a ceremony in what appeared to a show of strength for his 10-year-old ruling party. Addressing an audience at the Başkent Volleyball Arena in Ankara, Erdoğan listed many of the 112 projects, which include dams, irrigation systems, flood-prevention systems, water supply refinement facilities, forests, weather stations and environment protection projects. “With the commencement of these projects, 2.4 million acres of land will be irrigated, 8.4 billion kilowatt-hour electricity will be generated and 614 million cubic meters of drinkable water will be made available,” said the prime minister. Erdoğan noted that construction was estimated to cost more than $8.96 billion, though he claimed $1.9 billion would be saved through the benefits of the projects. With the implementation of more highly advanced water refinement facilities, Erdoğan remarked, the resulting recycled water will be used towards irrigation of parks and gardens. Erdoğan emphasized 26 private sector hydroelectric power plant (HES) projects that will also begin operating with the commencement, highlighting the TL 1.3 billion Boyabat Dam being constructed in the Black Sea province of Sinop. “The construction of dams is aimed at lessening Turkey's dependency on foreign energy sources,” he added. The Prime Minister continued by providing further information on the 16 dams which were built with the investment of TL 5 billion. He stated, “ Deriner Dam in Artvin costed TL 2.5 billion and it is estimated to generate 2.1 million kilowatt-hour of electricity annually. It is followed by the Süreyyabey Dam in Yozgat with the cost of TL 530 million. Atasu Dam in Trabzon, Köprübaşı Dam in Bolu, Demirözü Dam in Bayburt, Bağbaşı Dam in Konya as well as Blue Tunnel Project in Konya was listed consecutively. Total of 16 dams with the cost of TL 5.9 billion will be implemented.” The water refinement facilities are planned to provide the drinking water of three million people in İstanbul. During his speech, the prime minister said the service of notable Turkish leaders of the apst will be commemorated in the names given to the facilities. The names of late Turkish President Turgut Özal and ex-Energy and Natural Sources Minister Recai Kutan would be given to two dams located in province of Malatya, the birthplace of both leaders. Erdoğan also suggested that Parliament President Cemil Çiçek's name be given to the dam in Yozgat, the province where Çiçek is originally from. Forestry and Waterworks Minister Veysel Eroğlu, however, surprised the Prime Minister during the ceremony by suggesting the name Erdoğan be given to Turkey's biggest dam, now called Yusufeli, in Artvin. Following the speedy growth of the past two years, the Turkish economy has slowed since the beginning of this year. The latest Turkish Statistics Institute (TurkStat) data on Monday found Turkey's gross domestic product (GDP) growth slowed down to 1.6 percent in the third quarter over the same months of 2011, far below the market expectations of 2.6 percent. the second biggest contribution to growth came from public expenditures in the third quarter, with public sector investments growing by 11.2 percent over the same months a year ago. Source: TodayZaman
