Syria, Turkey to build dam along border

Syria and Turkey will lay the foundations for a dam on their common border early next month, Turkey's Ambassador to Syria Omer Onhon said yesterday. The neighbors are discussing details of tenders and financing for the dam on the Orontes River, Onhon said in an interview in Damascus. Technical committees from both countries will decide whether the dam will be built by Turkey or Syria or by both countries, he said. The dam on the Orontes, which flows from Lebanon into Syria and Turkey, is meant to prevent floods, generate electricity and irrigate farms in both countries, he said.