Page 7 - MEOG Week 13

MEOG Commentary MEOG
Around two million people are employed in construction in Turkey, which accounts for about 19 per cent of the country’s annual eco- nomic growth. Turkish construction firms rank as the second most active in terms of overseas operations, after Chinese firms. To reach its economic goals for 2023, the government has said it will need to invest about $700 billion in new infrastructure, plus $400 billion in urban renewal projects. With foreign currency reserves in Turkey dwindling, investment in real estate is one of the principle ways to bring in foreign cash.
The start of the tender process was accompa- nied by the surprise sacking of Turkey’s transport minister, Mehmet Cahit Turhan and the timing of the tender was criticised as it comes as the country faces a growing coronavirus crisis. No reason was given for replacing Turhan with his deputy Adil Karaismailoglu.
Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, a mem- ber of the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), has campaigned against the scheme and a public consultation saw tens of thousands of Istanbul residents sign a petition opposing it.
Mr Imamoglu criticised conducting the tender while Istanbul faced the consequences of the coronavirus outbreak. Turkey recorded 7,402 cases and 108 deaths as of late Saturday, a rise of 1,704 cases and 16 deaths on the previous day.
“I am leaving it to the public to judge those who held an auction for Kanal Istanbul today instead of supporting the millions who are worrying about their livelihoods,” the mayor tweeted.
Imamoglu said spending resources on the canal while Turkey combats the coronavirus out- break was “mind boggling”, adding that 50,000 families had applied to the Istanbul municipality for support due to the economic impact of the pandemic.
“Why don’t we spend our resources for our people instead of spending our resources on Kanal Istanbul, which to us is a weird project?” he said.
Responding to Imamoglu’s comments, the Transport Ministry said in a statement the tender was previously scheduled and did not hinder the government’s efforts to contain the outbreak.™
Week 13 01•April•2020 w w w . N E W S B A S E . c o m P7