Turkish contractors assume $29.3 bln worth of projects abroad

ANKARA

Turkish construction companies boosted their revenues from the projects they assumed in foreign countries to $29.3 billion last year from $15.2 billion in 2020, Trade Minister Mehmet Muş has said.

To date, local contractors have earned as much as $451.5 billion from more than 11,000 projects they have undertaken in 113 nations, Muş said at a meeting in Ankara on Jan. 4.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, revenues of Turkish construction firms from such operations declined by 20 percent in 2020 compared with the previous year to around $15 billion. However, even though those adverse effects from the pandemic continued in 2021, Turkish companies managed to almost double their revenues from projects abroad,” the minister added.

Muş noted that some of the works the Turkish contracting firms carried out in 2021 were not included in those numbers and when they are added, the actual the value of the projects they assumed would exceed $30 billion, a figure close to the record $31 billion of revenues in 2012 and 2013.

Turkish contractors have increased their presence in the Sub Saharan countries, but Russia is still the top market for local companies as they undertook $11.2 billion worth of developments there last year alone, the minister said.

Iraq was the second largest market at $3.6 billion worth of projects assumed in 2021, Muş added, noting that the government targets to improve dialogue and relations with this country to create more business opportunities for Turkish construction companies.

“Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Algeria remained among the top 10 markets for local contractors last year,” he said.

According to Muş, over the past 15 years, the worth of projects the Turkish contractors in foreign countries carried out averaged $23 billion and they generated around $650 million in construction service revenues.

The minister also noted that those works create jobs, which generate remittances, and boost construction material exports, contributing to the country’s economy.

The industry targets to undertake $30 billion worth of projects abroad in 2022, said Erdal Eren, the chair of the Turkish Contractors’ Association. “In the medium-term the target is to boost those revenues to $50 billion,” he added.