GAP RDA History

The Southeastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration Organization, which has a legal personality and was established for a period of fifteen years under the Prime Ministry, is composed of the Southeastern Anatolia Project High Board and the Southeastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration Presidency (GAP Administration Presidency) in order to rapidly develop the regions within the scope of the Southeastern Anatolia Project, to make or have made plans, infrastructure, licenses, housing, industry, mining, agriculture, energy, transportation and other services for the realization of investments, to take or have taken the necessary measures to increase the education level of the local people, and to ensure coordination between institutions and organizations.

The GAP Administration is also tasked with the secretariat services of the GAP High Council. The GAP High Council, which is the highest decision-making body of the Organization and reviews and decides on all plans, projects and programs prepared by the GAP Administration, is chaired by the Prime Minister and consists of the State Minister responsible for the GAP, the State Minister to whom the Undersecretariat of the State Planning Organization (SPO) reports, and the Minister of Public Works and Settlement. With the Prime Ministry Circular No. 2002/56, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs became a member of the GAP High Council as of December 2, 2002. Other Ministers were also invited to the GAP High Council when necessary.

GAP Administration is organized as Central and Regional. As stipulated in the Decree Law No. 388, the Decree Law on the Establishment of the GAP Administration and the attached staffing tables, the GAP Administration is managed by a President and two Vice Presidents. The Regional Directorate Organization is located in Şanlıurfa province.

After 1997, some articles in the Decree Law No. 388 were amended, and some articles were removed or added.

• Article 9 of the Decree Law No. 388 was amended by Law No. 4314 dated December 11, 1997 and the revenues of the Administration were redefined.
• The term of office of the GAP Regional Development Administration was extended for 3 years by Law No. 5254 published in the Official Gazette No. 25640 dated November 11, 2004.
• With the Law No. 5670 published in the Official Gazette No. 25539 dated June 1, 2007, the term of the Administration was extended by 5 years and the following amendments were made to the Decree Law No. 388:
• The phrase “with a legal personality and 18 years” in Article 1 of the Decree Law was amended as “with a legal personality and 23 years” and the same article was amended as “The Council of Ministers is authorized to extend the term of office of the Southeastern Anatolia Project Regional Development Administration Organization.”
• “The GAP Regional Development Administration shall work in close cooperation with ministries, public institutions and organizations, public economic enterprises and organizations in the nature of public institutions and non-governmental organizations in collecting information on all matters related to the GAP, preparing plans and monitoring the implementation”.

With the Prime Ministry Circular No. 2008/11 published in the Official Gazette No. 26910 dated June 18, 2008, the GAP Regional Development Administration was designated as the institution responsible for the monitoring, evaluation and coordination of the GAP Action Plan. In addition, the chairmanship and secretariat services of the “GAP Action Plan Monitoring and Steering Committee” were also assigned to the GAP Administration.

With the Council of Ministers Decree No. 2008/14535 published in the Official Gazette No. 27111 dated January 15, 2009, the headquarters of GAP Regional Development Administration Organization in Ankara was moved to Şanlıurfa on March 2, 2009.

The GAP Regional Development Administration, which had been working under the Prime Ministry since its establishment, was affiliated to the Ministry of Development pursuant to the Presidential approval prepared in accordance with Article 19/A added to the Law No. 3046 by the Decree Law No. 643 dated June 3, 2011 and published in the Official Gazette No. 27988 dated July 8, 2011. In the same period, the High Council for Regional Development and the Regional Development Committee were established as the main decision-making and consultation bodies at the central level to ensure cooperation and coordination among the institutions and organizations in charge of regional development. With the legislative amendments regarding the institutions (Article 56 of the Decree Law No. 649), the GAP High Council was also abolished.

The term of office of the GAP Regional Development Administration was extended for another 5 years by the Council of Ministers Decree No. 2012/3354 published in the Official Gazette No. 28373 dated August 3, 2012.

With the Council of Ministers Decree No. 2016/8870 published in the Official Gazette No. 29736 dated June 8, 2016, the term of office of the GAP Regional Development Administration was extended until December 31, 2019 and the term of office of the Administration became 30 years.

With the Decree Law No. 703 dated July 9, 2018, it was affiliated to the Ministry of Industry and Technology.

With the Presidential Decree No. 7471 published in the Official Gazette dated August 04, 2023 and numbered 32269, the term of office of the Administration was extended until December 31, 2028.