Cizre DAM & HEPP
Project
The Cizre Dam & HEPP Project is part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project (GAP), the largest development project ever undertaken in Turkey. The GAP that was initiated in 1978 by the Turkish Government is intended to be an integrated regional development plan covering a wide array of sectors such as irrigation, hydraulic energy production, agriculture, urban and rural infrastructure, forestry, education and health (http://www.gap.gov.tr). The energy projects represent 36 % of the total investment budget. They involve the construction of 22 dams and 19 power plants with a total installed capacity of 7.516 MW and an annual production of 27.200 MkWh. The agricultural projects, which amount to 34 % of the total budget of the GAP, are mainly, but not exclusively, focus on a global irrigation development scheme of 1.63 Mha. The total cost of the GAP is estimated to be around 32 billions US$.
Overwiev of the GAP Project
The İnstalled capacity of Cizre Project has been increased to 340 MW in the final design stage..
The water resources of the Tigris River (the second largest river in southwest Asia) in Turkey are, to a large extent, managed within the framework of the GAP. 26 projects including 12 dams and 8 HEPPs are implemented in the Tigris basin within Turkish territory. By the time all these projects are completed, the installed power plant capacity would reach 2.172 MW, the annual energy production 7.247 GWh and the irrigated area 637.258 ha. Together with the Cizre Dam, most important dams in this basin are Kralkizi (built between 1985-1997), Batman (1986-1999), Dicle (1986-1997) and Ilisu (currently in the Impounding Phase).
Major Dams in the Tigris Basin
Dicle Nehri Üzerinde Bulunan Barajlar
The Tigris flows in the southeast for about 400 km in Turkey, forms the border with Syria for 40 km, and flows downstream to Iraq. The main stem of the Tigris drains an area of 41,000 km2 in Turkey. The flow is characterized by a high annual and seasonal variability. The annual mean flow is about 500 m3/s at the Turkish border (16 billion m3)
At the downstream of Turkey, Iraq is extremely dependent on the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers as its only sources of water. There are several multi-purpose water development projects along Tigris in Iraq too; such as, Mosul Dam, Samarra Baraga and Sennacherib Dam
Cizre Project
As previously indicated, the Cizre Project will be implemented within the scope of the GAP. The dam is located very close to Cizre District/Turkish border and some 40 km downstream of the Ilisu Dam (1200 MW). The project will serve multiple purposes: energy production, irrigation of 76.591 ha and supply of drinking water of Cizre District. It is the last dam of Tigris basin in Turkey and uses the potential energy between 404.4 m. (Ilısu HEPP tailwater level) and 363 m. of the Tigris River. Information regarding the location and the basic characteristics of the project are provided below.
PROJECTS