But just a few hours drive west at the Ceyhan River, the Berke double curvature arch dam is a more hair-raising version of privatized construction that the government's pragmatism also embraces. Engineers took advantage of years spent developing the project's financial terms to advance designs and refine methods to further reduce risks. That job shed its first local prime contractor and remains late and over budget. The project is the first hydro plant built by the replacement Turkish firm and, at 201 meters high, it is the country's tallest dam built indigenously.
Turkey needs to come on line each year, on average.
The energy ministry has a long list of planned or potential projects, many with private finance. Most produce only a few megawatts but the 515-Mw Berke dam is at the top end of projects run by private sector utilities. So far, the 672-Mw Birecik dam is the first large BOT to clear all legal hurdles. While serving as general manager of a GAMA unit, Onaran identified Birecik as a potential BOT project just after Turkey allowed private operation of hydro plants in 1984. He assembled the core joint venture, which struggled until late 1995 to close the deal.