Turkish contractors face letter of guarantee problems abroad

At a ceremony organized for 42 Turkish contracting companies listed among the "World's 250 Largest International Contractors" and 6 Turkish technical consultancy companies listed among the "World's 225 Largest International Technical Consultants" by the globally-acclaimed Engineering News Record (ENR) Magazine for 2022, company representatives received their awards from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Speaking at the ceremony, TMB President M. Erdal Eren requested President Erdoğan's support for the direct acceptance of letters of guarantee issued by Turkish banks in the countries where they operate.

Turkish contractors, who have introduced the success of the construction sector to the whole world with the projects they have undertaken in 134 countries to date, were awarded at a ceremony organized by the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA). At the ceremony organized for 42 Turkish contracting companies listed in the "World's 250 Largest International Contractors" and 6 Turkish technical consultancy companies listed in the "World's 225 Largest International Technical Consultants" for 2022 by the globally followed Engineering News Record (ENR) Magazine, company representatives received their awards from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, Deputy Ministers, bureaucrats, senior officials from professional organizations, the private sector and NGOs. Each year, the ENR list is based on the turnover generated by the companies from the projects they realized outside their own countries in the previous year.

Today, the sector stands out in the world with its ability to perform timely and cost-effective work at international standards, its work experience in difficult and risky geographies, and its ability to develop relationships. Overseas contracting services are important in terms of foreign currency inflow to the economy, exports, employment and contribution to sectoral competitiveness.

'We are rebuilding our cities with great speed and recovering together'

Speaking at the award ceremony, M. Erdal Eren, President of the TMB, said: "At a time of significant developments all over the world, as a country, we are proud to be entering the second century of our Republic. We have with us the achievements and experiences we have gained over the years, and in front of us are the goals to be achieved and the obstacles to be overcome."

Noting that there are important steps to be taken on behalf of the sector in the coming period, Eren said, "In the recent earthquakes, as in many countries of the world, we have experienced great destruction and deep suffering due to structures built according to pre-2000 specifications that do not have sufficient effectiveness against earthquakes. However, due to the fact that we have a large number of contractors who do their job properly on the one hand, and the same quality inspection staff and authorities on the other, we have reacted very quickly together with our state. We are rebuilding our houses, neighborhoods and cities with great speed and together, and recovering together."

'We will reach our targets in the medium term'

Noting that they had previously set their target for overseas contracting services, which is one of Türkiye's most competitive service areas, as 50 billion dollars for the medium term, Eren continued as follows: "Our President, with his confidence in us, instructed us to increase our medium-term target to $75 billion. We continue our work within the framework of this instruction. We have no doubt that we will reach the targeted figures in the medium term. However, the war between our two neighbors Russia and Ukraine, which is also of great importance for our sector, has caused significant losses in our activities in the last two years. In addition, the economic situation that emerged in the global market during the pandemic period also accompanied this undesirable process. We are ready to take an active role in the reconstruction of Ukraine after the war and we are in close contact with the Ukrainian and national authorities in this regard. In fact, some of our members have already set up construction sites and started working even under war conditions due to urgent requests from Ukraine. On the other hand, we wish to increase our activities in Russia, where we have not experienced any problems other than the difficulties and contraction forced by the war, to their previous levels and to take our cooperation even further. I would like to express our gratitude to Mr. President for the peaceful policy we have pursued as Türkiye during this terrible war, which is appreciated by the whole world."

TABLE: TURKISH CONTRACTING COMPANIES AWARDED WITH PRIZES