Visit
9. We visited Turkey in November 2000 primarily in
pursuit of our programme of inquiries into industrial and trade
relations with countries seeking membership of the European Union.[10]
In view of the slippage in the timetable for decision-making on
the export credit, we decided to use the occasion of this visit
to see for ourselves the proposed site of the reservoir, to talk
to those directly affected and to be briefed by the Turkish authorities
who are sponsoring the construction. Five Members accompanied
by the Clerk spent a long day in south eastern Turkey, and were
subsequently briefed by the Turkish agency responsible for planning
the construction of the dam. Individual meetings were arranged
with several archaeologists in Ankara. The topic was also raised
at a number of our other meetings, including a meeting with the
Minister of Energy.
10. It is not for a UK parliamentary committee
to pronounce whether the dam should be built. It may be that
it will be built without UK export credit: the company could seek
credit from another ECA. It could be built without Balfour Beatty's
involvement; the Turkish authorities and the lead contractor could
seek another major construction company to lead the team. We were
told by DSI that it would not be the first time that they had
proceeded without originally intended UK participation; the UK
had originally been involved in the Ataturk dam. It may also be
that the Turkish authorities decide not to build it for any one
of a number of reasons, such as reprogramming the country's finances.
We have seen our task as being to discover the truth about
the project, so that Parliament and Ministers can come to a satisfactory
conclusion on the grant of export credit.
11. The Turkish authorities and the Turkish parliamentary
colleagues we met are naturally sensitive at the interest shown
by foreign parliamentarians in a project which is of concern to
us only because a UK company has sought the grant by DTI Ministers
of export credit. We wish to express our appreciation to all who
gave their time to talk to us. That includes those who accompanied
us on our visit to Anatolia and spoke to us so candidly; the people
of Hasankeyf who took the opportunity to express their views to
us; municipal and regional officials; and those in Ankara who
answered our questions very frankly. We can but hope that all
concerned would be equally co-operative if the situation were
reversed and a Turkish parliamentary Committee had come to visit
the UK to inquire into, for example, the Channel Tunnel Rail Link
or the Kielder Dam.
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