Special passports to be offered 15,000 Turkish exporters: Minister

DENİZLİ - Doğan News Agency

DHA photo

Some 15,000 exporters will be offered a special kind of passport that will enable holders to acquire visas quicker and gain visa-free entrance to many countries as part of new incentives in the sector, Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci has said.

“Our support for exporters will hit $4.5 billion in 2016. We will also cover the transportation costs and offer green passports to 15,000 of our exporters,” he said, adding that how many passports would be offered to a company would be determined by the company’s export volume. 

Zeybekci also said during an award ceremony in the Aegean province of Denizli on Oct. 22 that a number of ambitious investment incentives would be provided in eight or nine key sectors. 

“We will offer land without any charge to investors in eight or nine sectors. Energy prices will also be fixed and all taxes will be eliminated for them. We will also pay the interest rates if there is any big loan for investments,” he said, adding that the state would build partnerships with such investors by taking up to 40 percent of the stake on the condition that the deal is made on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. 

“The law covering these incentives was approved by our president [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] on Sept. 9. The cabinet decision will likely be issued next week,” added Zeybekci. 

At the ceremony, 39 local companies which made the largest volume of exports in Denizli were awarded.