GAP Master Plan

The GAP Master Plan is the document drawing an overall framework for regional development. It draws a schedule particularly for the development of water and land resources with due consideration of financial and technical capacities; gives a general picture of developments in economic and social sectors induced by this development including employment, population increase and spatial distribution of population; determines at macro level education and health services and needs for housing and urban infrastructure and gives financing needs by years. As a guide facilitating the integration and coordination of development efforts made by various governmental agencies, the GAP Master Plan supports the implementation of the GAP and given an overall but clear idea on the course of development for the region and also on plans, programs and projects to be designed at smaller scales.

To achieve the targets, which complement each other and form an integral whole, the GAP Master Plan identified four basic strategies in a time perspective extending to 2002:

• To develop and manage water and land resources both for irrigation and also for urban and industrial use,
• To improve land use by introducing better farm management, agricultural practices and crop patterns,
• To encourage manufacturing industries by giving special weight to agriculture related and local resource based production lines,
• To improve social services and urban infrastructure facilities to better respond to the needs of local people and to attract and keep qualified personnel in the region.

The basic development scenario of the GAP Master Plan is to transform the region into an "agriculture based export center".