Incentives program for industry in the works, says minister

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

A stimulus program aimed at boosting industrial production and employment will be announced soon, Development Minister Cevdet Yılmaz said on March 11.

Yılmaz announced that the government was working on a new incentives program aimed at reducing investors’ costs, boosting employment and investments in Turkey’s manufacturing industry.

“We can’t pursue a development strategy based on natural resources. Because of that our development should be based on human capital. Manufacturing is important in this sense,” Yılmaz said.

Regarding Turkey’s slowing GDP growth in 2014, he predicted that while Turkey’s first quarter GDP growth may prove weaker than expected, year-end growth will hit the 4 percent target of the government’s medium-term economic plan.

Yılmaz stressed that the ongoing Kurdish peace process was positive for Turkey’s growth and employment rates, as investors have started planning projects in the southeast, which has been held back by constant disorder in recent decades.

“With the peace process, investors are lining up. We have even started to feel a shortage of locations for investment. In provinces such as Batman, Mardin and Urfa we have seen very serious investor demand,” he added.