International hydro power research is to be coordinated by an office in the Turkish capital of Istanbul by 2008.
The World Hydropower Center will take around 3-4 years to construct, and once opened will be a focus of work carried out by research groups in other countries including the US, China, Africa and Argentina, say news reports in the Turkish media.
The work follows the signing of a protocol between the Turkish Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources and the United Nations International Development Organisation in May this year.