MOWR: New Turkish dam is more dangerous to Iraq than Iliso

INA – BAGHDAD 
 
Ministry of Water Resources warned of Turkish intentions to build a new dam on the Tigris River, which would be more dangerous to Iraq than the Iliso Dam.
 
"The Turkish side intends to implement the Al-Jazra dam project on the Tigris River, and this project we fear more than we fear from the Iliso Dam, the latter a dam to generate electricity and energy as its water is released from time to time while al-Jazra dam is irrigate,” said the Director-General of the General Authority for Dams and Reservoirs in the Ministry of Water Resources, Kadhim Sahar, to Al-Iraqiya News TV, followed by the Iraqi News Agency (INA).
 
He added, "The irrigation nature of Al-Jazra Dam poses a danger because it will retain Iraq's small share of water if it is implemented without the agreement between the Turkish and Iraqi sides,"
 
"The Iraqi-Turkish agreements under the bilateral memorandum of understanding are still in force. Last June, a delegation from the ministry visited Ankara and obtained good results that were invested last summer,” he noted.
 
Sahar stressed that "the Turkish side was looking for financiers to build Al-Jazra Dam, and they assured the ministry that it would not affect Iraq's share. We are frankly afraid because promises in politics are not always implemented,”
 
"The road is not blocked, and there are Iraqi-Turkish discussions and contacts that stress the necessity of preserving Iraq's quotas," he pointed out.