TURKEY AND QATAR:
$200 billion
Qatar infrastructure
investment ahead
of FIFA world cup
2022
billion
Total value of
Turkish contracts in
Qatar (2012)
$25-S30 billion
Proiected worth
Of construction
projects for Turkish
firms ahead of FIFA
VVorld Cup 2022
TURKISH DELIGHT
The GCC is considered the
next major growth market
for Turkey.
China), there has been a growing sense that the
GCC could be the next major growth market for
the Eurasian state.
"In an era of euro zone crisis and trade
contraction with the European Union - which
is the main Turkish trade partner and source Of
foreign direct investment - Middle Eastern markets
represent a significant alternative for Turkey,"
Talbot explains in her analysis.
"Trade volume with Gulf countries, and the
Middle East in general, is expected to increase
as economic and trade relations have great
potential to be capitalised on, also taking into
account the demographic growth that both
Turkey and Saudi Arabia, the biggest market in
the GCC, are experiencing."
What has been noticeable is that the trade
relationship between the GCC and Turkey is one
that flows both ways, with $6.5 billion invested
from the GCC into Turkey, with the UAE leading
the way with 56% Of the investment, a report by
the Oxford Business Group has said, quoting the
National Commercial Bank of Saudi Arabia.
Interestingly, Turkey's investment into the GCC
has arguably been more significant, with the UAE
alone receiving $6 billion.
Leading this investment charge has been the
construction sector, which has zeroed in on the
huge number of infrastructure projects that are in
various stages of development.
Bora Can Yildiz, president of EID Construction,
tells Big Project ME that it's no surprise that
the GC„C has emerged as one of Turkey's main
markets, given the long history between the
country and the region.
"We have two faces, an Asian face - a Middle
Eastern face - and we have a European face.
"TURKISH PEOPLE ARE
MORE FLEXIBLE THAN
EUROPEANS WHEN IT
COMES TO TOUGH,
DIFFICULT CONDITIONS.
IT DOESN'T MAKE US
AFRAID"
MARKET REVIEW TURKEY
We used to live together with our brothers for
hundreds ofyears. So, for all Turkish companies,
including construction, machinery, export,
agriculture — whatever - the GCC is of big interest,"
he explains.
"Although Turkey has a Strong relationship
with the European Union, we were not accepted
in 'the club' in previous years and we were always
on hold. This gave Turkey a chance to remember
what it had forgotten before, a chance to turn back
to its roots.
"So, we've grown our economic relations over
the last two decades with the Middle East, and this
has brought fresh and strong economic growth to
Turkey," Yildiz asserts.
The figures bear this Out, with estimates
showing that there are some 500 Illrkish
companies that have operated in Saudi Arabia,
where in the first half of 2012 they worked on
projects worth $12.1 billion. Meanwhile, in Qatar,
by the end Of last year, Turkish firms had carried
out projects worth another $ 12 billion.
Tha€s not all. Now that work on the World Cup
projects has begun, there has been significant
interest from Turkish construction firms in the
gas-rich Gulf state.
Projects estimated to be worth between $25
billion and $30 billion are up for grabs over the
course of the next decade, the president of the
Turkish Contractors Association (TCÄ) says.
"Considering Qatar's share among Turkish
contractors' business volume has been around 5%
for the past 40 years, according to an optimistic
scenario, it is possible to estimate that Turkish
contractors will undertake a total of $25 billion to
PROJECT 43
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