Turkish PM says also has "crazy projects" for major Kurdish city

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who earlier unveiled a series of projects he plans to bring to fruition in Ankara and İstanbul, said on Thursday that he also has similar plans for the southeastern province of Diyarbakır.

"The Southeast's crazy project is coming up next," Erdoğan said as he responded to questions from a group of journalists in the central province of Aksaray following an election rally he held in the province.

Erdoğan did not give details about his plans for Diyarbakır, a predominantly Kurdish province, but vowed to announce the plans in Diyarbakır just before the June 12 parliamentary elections.

"We have projects for Diyarbakır. We are still working on them. I can announce the Diyarbakır projects just like I announced the Ankara projects. We can revise what we promised for the region and announce it in Diyarbakır," he said.

Erdoğan first announced his plans for İstanbul last month, unveiling his long-awaited "crazy project" to build a new waterway in İstanbul province. Erdoğan did not make the project's exact location or cost clear, but it is expected to stretch between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara near Silivri and Çatalca, the two westernmost districts of İstanbul. Erdoğan later announced his plans to build two new cities in the province that will be resistant to earthquakes, a major challenge for İstanbul. He said one would be built along the Black Sea coast on the European side while the other will be built on the Anatolian side, without mentioning the exact locations of the new cities.

As for Ankara, Erdoğan announced a series of projects on Tuesday. Among Erdoğan's plans for Ankara are the construction of a new city in Ankara province, making Ankara one of the most important defense industry centers in the world, the construction of a new courthouse in Ankara similar to one recently built in İstanbul and the construction of a football stadium with the capacity to hold 40,000 spectators, Cihan news agency  reported.


/World Bulletin/