Çukurova boss cannot go to Gabon but his company can

ISTANBUL - Anatolia News Agency

Çukurova is interested in energy investments in Africa, says Karamehmet. AA photo

Çukurova Holding, a Turkish company mainly active in the media, energy and telecommunication sectors, is interested in crude oil and natural gas exploration and energy investment in Africa, according to its top executive.

“We are partnering with a company on energy projects in Iraq, which recently acquired a company in Morocco and the Ivory Coast. So we are present in these countries,” Mehmet Emin Karamehmet, chairman of Çukurova Holding said yesterday at the Turkey-Gabon Business Forum in Istanbul. “We are interested in [investing] in Gabon and Mozambique as well. In fact we are interested in all of Africa. There are political issues in Sudan, but we still take an interest in that country. We are pursuing opportunities there.”

Karamehmet said he cannot go to Gabon in person, as he is not allowed to leave the country due to a lawsuit. “There are many [investment] opportunities there, not just crude oil. Generators, electricity production, buses, trucks, military vehicles, construction machines... These are all in areas of interest to us,” Karamehmet said.

The Turkey-Gabon business forum was organized by the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON). Also speaking at the forum, Gabonese Investment Promotion Minister Magloire Ngambia called on Turkish businessmen to invest in his country.

“Gabon plans to invest about $20 billion in the areas of infrastructure, energy, transportation and
education within the next five years,” Ngambia said. “We will invest $2.8 billion in housing, $6 billion in road construction, $2 billion in sea and air transportation, and $2 billion in health.”