In an attempt to disprove the thesis of “water wars,” Turkey has engaged in projects to cooperate with its neighbors on building dams over rivers that traverse its borders, government officials say.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, those officials told Cihan news agency, that Turkey plans to build 18 dams on its borders with Iraq, Syria, Iran, Georgia, Bulgaria and Greece. The foundation for the first dam is to be laid on Jan. 31. When the projects are completed, Turkey will have joint dams with all its neighbors except Armenia.

All the preparatory work on a project to construct a dam on the Orontes River, known as the Asi River in Turkish, which flows from Syria to Turkey, has recently been completed. The foundation laying for the dam was scheduled for Jan. 31, with a ceremony to be attended by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, WorldBulletin reported.