At the 20th Ordinary General Assembly of OSBÜK (Organized Industrial Zones Union of Turkey), held at the TOBB Twin Towers, OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın was unanimously elected as the Chairman of the Assembly. OSTİM was also represented at the General Assembly by OSBÜK Delegate Erol Barutçu and Regional Manager Adem Arıcı.
Speaking at the opening of the General Assembly, OSBÜK President Memiş Kütükcü stated that Organized Industrial Zones (OSBs) are the backbone of Turkey. In his speech, Kütükcü noted the very high investment appetite in OSBs and emphasized the need to create new and planned industrial areas for Turkish industry.
“Organized Industrial Zones have become the backbone of Turkey”
Stating that the world is undergoing a major transformation and that Turkey is also affected by this change, President Kütükcü explained that organized industrial zones are the backbone of Turkey during this challenging period that began with the pandemic.
Kütükcü noted that rising costs in every area, such as energy, raw materials, and logistics, are making production difficult, and that working capital needs, in particular, have increased significantly.
However, Kütükcü emphasized that despite all these negative conditions, Turkish industry has managed to seize significant opportunities by continuing investment and production, stating, “We have surpassed pre-pandemic levels in production, exports, and employment. We have managed to integrate much more strongly into global supply chains. In the last two years, we increased our exports by 25 percent, exceeding $225 billion. Our organized industrial zones have become the backbone of Turkey in almost every area, from industrial production to employment and exports. Our organized industrial zones completed 2021, a year in which the pandemic and cost increases continued to have a full impact, with a 12.7 percent increase in production. In the first six months of 2022, we are continuing on our path with a production increase of over 1 percent.”
Organized Industrial Zones have created 2,495,000 jobs.
Kütükcü noted that 37 new Organized Industrial Zones (OIZs) have been established in Turkey in the last two years, bringing the total number to 374, and said: “The number of OIZs in our country has reached 374, with 268 of them in operation. In the last two years, over 5,000 new industrial plots have been allocated to our investors in our OIZs. In terms of employment, our OIZs have provided new employment for 400,000 people in the last two years. Thus, we have reached the highest employment figure in our history with a total of 2,495,000 jobs. Today, one out of every two people employed in Turkish industry works in our OIZs. We will hopefully reach our target of 2.5 million jobs in 2023 even before that date.”
Site selection and expropriation processes should be accelerated.
Kütükcü emphasized that the capacity utilization rate in Turkey has exceeded 78 percent, and the occupancy rate of the 268 organized industrial zones in production is 88 percent, adding that Turkey needs new planned industrial areas for new investments.
Kütükcü stated: “The site selection processes for the establishment of our organized industrial zones take a very long time, and requests for expansion areas take as long as 5-6 years. This bureaucracy reduces investment appetite. As a community, our request is that the time frame for relevant institutions and organizations to provide their opinions during the site selection process of organized industrial zones be set, and that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, in particular, promptly handle the files it receives, examine the requests on-site, and finalize them as soon as possible. Similarly, expropriation processes take a very long time during the establishment and expansion phases of our organized industrial zones. To solve this problem and support the rapid and planned production of industrial areas, we propose that the institution of expedited expropriation should also be applied to organized industrial zones. As we enter the 100th year of the Republic, despite all the negative conditions in the world, Turkey has achieved a significant investment and production appetite. As a country, we must never miss this opportunity.”
In his speech, Kütükcü provided information about the work and projects implemented by OSBÜK.
Hisarcıklıoğlu: “We are proud of our Organized Industrial Zones”
Evaluating global economic and social developments, TOBB President Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu addressed the difficulties companies face in accessing financing. Stating that ensuring companies have access to financing under favorable conditions is crucial for the national economy, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We emphasize at every opportunity the difficulties in accessing financing, the rise in interest rates, and the inadequacy of credit limits in recent times. We also see that finding long-term, fixed-interest loans necessary for investments is becoming increasingly difficult.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu stated, “We are proud of our organized industrial zones, which are considered exemplary models in the world and which spearhead our productive power. Our organized industrial zones prove that we can become a global production center that acts as the dynamo of cities, thereby increasing our country's investment attractiveness. Almost all developing and developed countries are trying to imitate our organized industrial zone model.”
Hisarcıklıoğlu added that Mayor Kütükcü is a great asset for industry and organized industrial zones.
Grandfather: “Organized Industrial Zones make a great contribution to the country's economy”
Deputy Minister of Industry and Technology Hasan Büyükdede, stating that industrial investments have a very important share in Turkey's development drive, said in his speech that organized industrial zones play an important role in ensuring that industrial investments are carried out in a planned manner, that environmental balances are protected, and that productivity and sustainable development are achieved. Büyükdede stated that organized industrial zones make a great contribution to the national economy through the employment opportunities they provide, and added, "The general policy of our Ministry towards organized industrial zones is to ensure that they become brands, centers of attraction, and that sustainable measures are taken so that they can operate at full capacity." Büyükdede stated that the Ministry of Industry and Technology provides low-interest, long-term loans for Organized Industrial Zone (OIZ) projects, saying, “To date, our Ministry has registered 341 OIZs, granting them legal personality, and as of today, there is no city in our country without an OIZ. By the end of 2021, our Ministry had completed 213 OIZ projects, including infrastructure and wastewater treatment plants, and put them into service for our industrialists. Approximately 17.5 billion Turkish Lira (at 2022 prices) in loans have been provided by our Ministry for these completed projects. Our Ministry's 2022 investment program includes 34 new OIZ projects along with 129 ongoing OIZ projects, and 2.7 billion Turkish Lira (at 2022 prices) has been spent on these projects to date.”
Büyükdede emphasized the importance of creating new industrial areas and underlined that the Ministry of Industry and Technology will continue to support Organized Industrial Zones (OSBs). He noted that the Ministry aims to reach 1% of Turkey's industrial land area by the end of the next 10 years.
“We must continue to make land available for industry.”
Ziya Altunyaldız, Chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly's Committee on Industry, Trade, Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology, stated that Turkey has a very dynamic economy and discussed global economic developments. Altunyaldız noted that Turkey achieved a historic success with its business world during the pandemic, adding that investment appetite is high in organized industrial zones and investors are waiting in line. He said, “We must continue to produce more land for industry. We must continue to improve and expand the investment climate. Because our capacity utilization rates have reached 78 percent. We need new investments.”
Following the speeches, the items on the General Assembly's agenda were voted on and approved.
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