Suruç Water Tunnel (Turkish: Suruç Tüneli is a water supply tunnel located in Suruç district of Şanlıurfa Province, southeastern Turkey. The purpose of the tunnel is to provide irrigation for the Suruç Valley from Atatürk Dam. With its length of 17.185 km (10.678 mi), it is the country's longest tunnel.[1][2]
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Official name | Suruç Tüneli |
| Location | Suruç, Şanlıurfa Province |
| Status | Active |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | March 18, 2009 |
| Opened | March 9, 2014 |
| Operator | State Hydraulic Works (DSI) |
| Character | Water tunnel |
| Technical | |
| Length | 17.185 km (10.678 mi) |
Technical features
editThe water tunnel was commissioned by the State Hydraulic Works (DSI) on December 25, 2008.[3] For the building of the water tunnel, Ilci Construction Inc. was contracted.[4] The construction works at an altitude of 580 m (1,900 ft) AMSL began on March 18, 2009.[3][4] The excavation of the water tunnel was carried out with a tunnel boring machine (TBM),[5] which is 152 m (499 ft) long and has a cutting shield of 7.83 m (25.7 ft) diameter.[3][4] The TBM was transported from Italy on 300 trailers, and its assembly completed after twelve months on August 21, 2010.[3] Synchronised with the progress of excavation, the inner walls of the tunnel were lined with 30 cm (12 in) thick precast concrete hexagons.[4] The average daily progress of the excavation works was between 30–40 m (98–131 ft).[3] The water tunnel has an average downhill slope of 0.49% through the Gazientep Formation of the Eocene and Oligocene geological period.[4][6]
Economics
editThe construction cost about ₺2 billion.[1] As part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project, it supplies water to agricultural land covering an area of about 950 km2 (370 sq mi) in Suruç Valley and to 134 populated places in and around Suruç.[1][2][3][5][6] With its inner diameter of 7 m (23 ft), the water tunnel has a discharge capacity of 90 m3/s (3,200 cu ft/s),[6] which makes it bigger than many rivers in Turkey.[1][3][5] It is expected that the project will create jobs for at least 190,000 people in the region.[2][3][5][6] With irrigation by the Suruç Water Tunnel, over 8,000 farmers will be able to produce more profitable agricultural product.[6] Ministry of Forest and Water Management Veysel Eroğlu stated that its contribution to the country's economy will as much as ₺270 million annually.[2]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b c d "Türkiye'nin en uzunu". Habertürk (in Turkish). 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
- ^ a b c d "Suruç Tunnel Completed". TRT. 2014-02-09. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Dünyanın En Uzun 5. Su Tüneli Suruç'da" (in Turkish). GAP Eylem Planı. Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
- ^ a b c d e "Turkey starts second 17km long water drive". Tunnel Talk. September 2010. Retrieved 2014-03-11.
- ^ a b c d Günay, Mevlüt (2014-02-07). "Dünyanın en büyük 5. sulama tüneli Suruç Tüneli bitmek üzere". Zaman (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 2014-03-10. Retrieved 2014-03-10.
- ^ a b c d e "Light at end of water tunnel in sight". Hürriyet Daily News. 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2014-03-11.