Contractors undertake $18 bln worth of projects abroad

ISTANBUL

Turkish contractors have secured $17.6 billion in international projects in the first 10 months of the year, according to data from the Trade Ministry.

Despite challenges like the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war, Turkish contractors continue to thrive.

In 2019, they completed 544 projects worth $19.9 billion, though numbers dropped to 386 projects valued at $16.9 billion in 2020 due to pandemic impacts.

With pandemic effects receding, international project values rebounded to $31.5 billion across 457 projects in 2021, marking the sector’s busiest year since 2012.

Despite the Ukraine conflict, 507 projects worth $20 billion were completed in 2022, followed by 436 projects worth $28.3 billion in the previous year.

This year, from January through October, Turkish contractors undertook 179 international projects valued at $17.6 billion.

The average value of international projects has also increased significantly, from $39.4 million in 2022 to $98.3 million in the first 10 months of 2024.

Since 1972, Turkish contractors have completed 12,317 international projects worth $522.1 billion in 137 countries.

Russia remains the top destination, accounting for 19.6 percent ($102.4 billion), followed by Turkmenistan at 10.3 percent ($53.5 billion) and Iraq at 6.7 percent ($35 billion).

Turkish contractors have worked on a wide range of projects since 1972, including highways, tunnels, bridges, housing, power plants, trade centers and airport investments. Highways, tunnels and bridges account for 13.9 percent of total projects, followed by housing at 13.7 percent, power plants at 8.5 percent, trade centers at 7 percent and airports at 6.6 percent.