HL Deb 08 July 1999 vol 603 c114WA
Lord Avebury

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What information they have sought and received respectively, in considering whether to grant export credit in relation to the Ilisu Dam in the south east of Turkey, on the environmental impact of the project, the resettlement of local communities, including the consultation process and the issue of compensation, the riparian rights of neighbouring states, and the impact on the local cultural heritage; and whether they will place copies of any documentation in the Library of the House; and [HL2976]

Whether they will place in the Library of the House copies of the environmental impact statement, the resettlement plan, and any other documents they have received in connection with applications for credit cover in respect of contracts for work on the Ilisu Dam project in Turkey; and what representations they have received from downstream co-riparian states such as Syria and Iraq on the possible impact of this project on water users in their jurisdictions. [HL3067]

The Minister of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Simon of Highbury)

Ministers will consider all aspects of this project before deciding whether ECGD support should be made available. The relevant documentation, such as the Environmental Impact Appraisal Report and resettlement plan, is either being reviewed, or is still being drawn up. Much of this documentation is the property of other parties—either the consortium or the other governmental authorities, and has been provided to us on the understanding that it is not to be made available at this stage. The intention, which has been internationally agreed, is that the Environmental Impact Appraisal Report, when finalised, should be made publicly available following contract award, and a copy would then be placed in the Library of the House.

The State Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic raised the project with our Ambassador in Damascus on 4 March. On 25 May the League of Arab States wrote to the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs.