Earthquakes cost industry $9 billion, says ministry report

ADIYAMAN

Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank has announced the damage report of industrial facilities in the provinces affected by the earthquake.

Varank stated that seven out of the 34 Organized Industrial Zones (OSB) in the earthquake region suffered partial damage to infrastructure, noting that there were 5,600 facilities with heavy and medium damage.

Stressing that production has started in 33,000 facilities in the region, Varank said that the total cost of infrastructure, building damage, machinery damage and stock damage is approximately 170 billion Turkish Liras ($9 billion).

“Of course, it is not possible to bring back the lives lost, but do not doubt that we will do our best to heal the wounds of those left behind,” Varank said at a consultation meeting with industrialists at Adıyaman OSB.

“To meet the needs of industry in the earthquake zone, our teams have conducted damage assessments at OSBs, industrial parks, or individual factories,” Varank said.

“Seven of the 34 OSBs in the region have partial damage to their infrastructure. We immediately began repairs and renovations in these areas. Nearly 5,600 facilities in OSBs and industrial parks were severely and moderately damaged and were demolished. In the remaining 33,000 facilities, production has started and is continuing.”

In the four OSBs operating in Adıyaman, there are 54 demolished, moderately or partially severely damaged buildings and 98 slightly damaged facilities, Varank added.

“We will overcome our shortcomings in terms of industry and production for Adıyaman,” he said.

“We will revive every factory, business and shop that was damaged.”

The minister said that they will declare the suitable areas in the disaster zone as “industrial areas,” taking into account earthquake criteria.

“We will urgently build new industrial workplaces in these areas, and we will support the reconstruction of destroyed or damaged workplaces on site according to the suitability of the land,” Varank said.

To encourage new investment in the region, we will include our heavily damaged districts in the Attraction Centers Program, and all investments will benefit from incentives. Depending on the size of the business and the damage, we will support our SMEs with interest-free loans of up to 1.5 million liras.”

One of the greatest needs in the region is housing for employees, Varank noted.

“In this regard, we have decided to buy containers and support SMEs up to 30,000 liras per container,” he said.

“In this way, we want our SMEs that provide shelter to their employees to stand up much faster.”