President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended via live connection the completion ceremony of the Diyarbakır-Silvan Dam Body Fill Works along with the opening ceremonies of Ergani Dam, Başlar Dam and Ergani Drinking Water Treatment Plant. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Agriculture and Forestry Dr. Bekir Pakdemirli, members of parliament from Diyarbakır, and DSİ Director General Kaya Yıldız.
President Erdoğan noted that the Diyarbakır Silvan Dam and Hydroelectric Power Plant is one of the most important projects of the GAP, and that the Silvan Project is the country's largest facility after the Atatürk Dam in terms of irrigation capacity. He stated that the project encompasses 8 separate dams and 23 irrigation facilities that will irrigate 2 million 360 thousand decares.
Erdoğan expressed that they expect a 2-3 fold increase in agricultural production in the region thanks to these projects that will irrigate the fertile plains of central Diyarbakır, Silvan and Bismil districts.
Pointing out the great importance of these projects for Turkey with a 305,000-person increase in employment and an annual contribution of nearly 2 billion liras to the economy, Erdoğan stated: "We are determined to use our resources most efficiently by rapidly completing projects that have reached a certain level of completion. We plan to complete Silvan Dam by the end of next year and start storing water."
