Altinsehir Jewelry Specialized Small Industrial Site, Gold and Jewelry Center and Design and Modeling Center, which were realized with an investment of ₺350 million in Kahramanmaras, will provide employment opportunities for 7 thousand people. Industry and Technology Minister Mustafa Varank said, “We are in 12th place in the world in terms of proven gold reserves. We have gold reserves lying under the ground. We are currently both extracting gold from underground and processing gold above ground.”
According to the written statement made by the Ministry, a move that will start the golden age with an investment of approximately ₺350 million has been made in Kahramanmaras, one of the important centers of jewelry. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan officially opened the Altinsehir Jewelry Specialized Small Industrial Site, Gold and Jewelry Center and Design and Modeling Center in Kahramanmaras with the support of the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
Minister of Industry and Technology Varank stated that Altinsehir Industrial Estate is a magnificent work and said, “Gold has a very important position in our financial system, in our culture. We are in 12th place in the world in terms of proven gold reserves. We have gold reserves lying under the ground.” Noting that gold was not extracted from the ground until 2000, Minister Varank said, “At the moment, we are both extracting gold from underground and processing gold above ground. 6 thousand of our citizens are employed in 360 shops in the industrial site we are building. We will add 1000 new employments to this industrial site in the coming period.” Minister Varank stated that they will increase Kahramanmaras’ exports of over $800 million to $1 billion in 2020, “Economy means employment, industry means employment. As the Ministry of Industry and Technology, we will continue to bring this city together with value-added industry under the leadership of our President. “
$350 MILLION INVESTMENT
Altinsehir Jewelry Specialized Industrial Site, which was officially opened, came to life with a total investment of ₺350 million. The site, which includes R&D and modern facilities, was built with the support of the Kahramanmaras Chamber of Jewelers, the Ministry of Industry and Technology and the European Union. With this investment, gold producing companies, which tried to produce under inadequate conditions, were moved to a more modern and planned environment.
EMPLOYMENT FOR 7 THOUSAND PEOPLE
The industrial site, built on a 38 thousand square meter land, has 360 workplaces. Currently, 300 workplaces are in service. The industrial site, which currently employs 6 thousand people, will be a job opportunity for 7 thousand people when it operates at full capacity. A gemology laboratory and a mint-approved tuning house were also established within the site. Another investment that was opened was the Gold and Jewelry Center. Gold and jewelry valuation services will be provided to SMEs in accredited and high-tech laboratory conditions with the center with a budget of ₺40 million, realized within the scope of the Competitive Sectors Program carried out by the Ministry of Industry and Technology, co-financed by the Republic of Turkey and the European Union. In this way, the added value in gold production will increase even more and the competitiveness of SMEs will reach an international level.
DESIGN AND MODELING CENTER
At the ceremony, the Design and 3D Modeling Center was inaugurated. The center, which will serve SMEs manufacturing in the jewelry sector, will operate within the body of Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University. The Center was co-financed under the Eastern Mediterranean Development Agency and the Competitive Sectors Programme. With the project, which is an example of university-industry cooperation, the input costs of companies will decrease. Turkey, one of the world’s largest gold jewelry markets along with India, China, the USA and Russia, ranks in the top three in gold production along with India and Italy. Approximately 250-300 tons of gold and jewelry are produced in Turkey every year. The sector employs approximately 250 thousand people. Kahramanmaras is the city with the highest workforce and production capacity in Turkey’s gold and jewelry industry after Istanbul. There are about 700 gold and jewelry workshops in the city.
Source: Sabah / Translated by Irem Yildiz