Provinces to see science investments

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Industry Minister Ergün says all Turkish provinces will have science centers. AA photo

All metropolitan regions in Turkey are to have science centers within two years and all provinces are to have science centers within five years, the Science, Industry, and Technology Minister Nihat Ergün has said.

Ergun’s comments came at an Ankara meeting yesterday to promote the project to establish Science Centers in all of Turkey’s 81 provinces.

“The past remains in the past. Turkey is now on the right track making plans for the future,” Ergün said.
The ministry has allocated 1 billion Turkish Liras for the establishment of the centers, he said.

“We want to be among the world’s top 10 economies by 2023 and have exports worth $500 billion. We will therefore allocate 3 percent of our national income to research and development projects,” he added.
“If mayor’s do not attach importance to science centers as much as they do for sports facilities and swimming pools, then they are wrong. The ones who act quickly will take a share [of the fund],” he said, adding that municipalities would be

in charge of the providing the building and infrastructure, while the ministry would provide the technical support.