§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry when the Environmental Impact Assessment on the Ilisu Hydro-Electric project in Turkey will be(a) completed and (b) published. [107014]
§ Mr. CabornThe Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is expected to be completed in March/April and made publicly available shortly thereafter.
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§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the compliance of the Ilisu Dam project with guidelines of the World Bank for(a) ECGD and (b) developmental support. [107019]
§ Mr. CabornWe are only considering ECGD support for the Ilisu Dam; as this is not a development project, such support, if agreed, will not be conditional on compliance with World Bank guidelines, although we are looking for international guidelines to be reflected in the approach to the project. The statement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry of 21 December outlined four main concerns, which we require to see addressed before a decision is made on ECGD support. These are:
- resettlement
- water quality
- downstream water flow
- preservation of the archaeological heritage of Hasankeyf
We have published two reports commissioned to assist with the decision making process and await the outcome of further work including a full Environmental Impact Assessment Report.
§ Mr. WorthingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what assessment he has made of the compliance of the Ilisu Dam project with the criteria of the UN Convention on the Non-Navigational Uses of Transboundary Waterways. [107020]
§ Mr. CabornThe assessment of such compliance is a matter which will need to be addressed. The statement of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry of 21 December, raised as one of our concerns the issue of assuring the maintenance of downstream flows.