Turkey Hopes Planned Dam Generates More Than Electricity

"On Tuesday, some 80 years after Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey, first proposed tapping the storied Tigris and Euphrates for energy, the government will unveil plans to complete the stalled Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP). The $32 billion project is intended to both provide Turkey with much-needed electricity and to pacify the restive Kurdish southeast, where rebels have capitalized on residents' economic grievances to build support."

"But for locals and experts alike, big questions remain about GAP's effectiveness and whether it will be the magic bullet that lifts the southeast out of its long-standing economic and political troubles."

"Along with infrastructure projects, GAP also funds a number of social and economic development projects. In Sanliurfa and 28 other cities, the project supports community centers that offer childcare and educational courses for disadvantaged women."

"Still, what is spent on projects like these is only a fraction of what GAP spends on dams and roads. Observers say that imbalance needs to be remedied if the restive Kurdish region is to be pacified."