The Southeastern Anatolia Project (Turkish: Güneydoğu Anadolu Projesi, GAP) is a multi-sector integrated regional development project based on the concept of sustainable development for the 9 million people (2023) living in the Southeastern Anatolia region of Turkey. According to the Southeastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration, the aim of the GAP is to eliminate regional development disparities by raising incomes and living standards and to contribute to the national development targets of social stability and economic growth by enhancing the productive and employment generating capacity of the rural sector.The Southeastern Anatolia Region extending over wide plains in the Euphrates-Tigris Basin encompass the administrative provinces of ( Adıyaman, Batman, Diyarbakır, Gaziantep, Kilis, Siirt, Şanlıurfa, Şırnak and Mardin )which are located in the basins of the Euphrates and Tigris and in Upper Mesopotamia. The surface area of the region bordering with Syria to the south and with Iraq to the southeast is 75,193 square kilometres which corresponds to 9.7% of Turkey's total surface area. Turkey has in total 8.5 million hectares of irrigable land and GAP's share in this total is 20 per cent.The total cost of the project is over 190 billion Turkish lira (TL) (2020 adjusted price).
Current activities under GAP include sectors like agriculture and irrigation, hydroelectric power production, urban and rural infrastructure, forestry, education and health. Water resources development envisaged the construction of 22 dams and 19 power plants.
