Silvan tunnel is part of the gigantic GAP (Southsastern Anatolia Project) of Turkey. In combination with Babakaya tunnel, it will convey the water from the 175.5m high (highest in Europe) Silvan Dam to a 97,7 kilometer long water pipeline which will eventually convey it to the fields.

The construction of the Silvan Tunnel will take 3,5 years.

length:     13.236 meters

diameter: 10 meters (inner), 10,8 meters (outer)

The tunnel will cost ₺1,2 billion.

Initial construction of the tunnel started in 2014 with the drill and blast method. But when an methan gas explosion occured, project has been cancelled. After a new tender process, the construction now starts with Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) method.

GAP (Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi - Southsastern Anatolia Project)

GAP is the largest scale and costliest project in the history of the Republic of Türkiye. It is a a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2005) living in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey.

GAP's basic aim is to eliminate regional development disparities by raising incomes and living standards and to contribute to the national development targets of social stability and economic growth by enhancing the productive and employment generating capacity of the rural sector. The total cost of the project is over 100 billion Turkish lira (₺ - TL) (2017 adjusted price), of which ₺30.6 billion of this investment was realized at the end of 2010.The project area covers nine provinces (Adıyaman, Batman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kilis, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Mardin, and Şırnak) which are located in the basins of the Fırat (Euphrates) and Dicle (Tigris) and in Upper Mesopotamia.

The project is fully financed by the local resources of Türkiye. It is because, Syria and Iraq have long objected to the project claiming that project would decrease the availability of Fırat and Dicle water supplies to these countries. Together with other Arab countries (as far as Morocco), they have blocked any WOrld Bank or other credits to this project.

News about the Silvan Tunnel (Turkish)

https://www.haberler.com/silvan-tuneli-verimli-topraklari-suyla-12129407-haberi/