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Huge investments in Turkey made a great contribution to employment

The Northern Marmara Motorway, Eurasia Tunnel, Istanbul Airport, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Northern Ring Motorway, Osmangazi Bridge and Istanbul-Izmir Highway were among the investments implemented with the public-private sector cooperation model.

Istanbul Public Private Sector Cooperation Center of Excellence (PPPCOE) and World Association of PPP Experts (WAPPP) Central Asia Department Head Dr. Eyup Vural Aydin said, “We always talk about the benefits of the public-private partnership (PPP) model in different areas, but what we do not talk about much is the contribution of these projects to the macroeconomy and their ability to create employment.”

In recent years, the public-private partnership (PPP) model has become one of the important tools used for the construction of infrastructures, renewal or expansion of existing ones. Northern Marmara Motorway, Eurasia Tunnel, Istanbul Airport, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Northern Ring Motorway, Osmangazi Bridge and Istanbul-Izmir Highway have been among the major investments that have been implemented in Turkey with this model in recent years. The fact that they created intense employment and triggered economic development are among the important features of the projects in question.

Dr. Eyup Vural Aydin, in his statement on the subject, noted that the benefits of the PPP model in different fields are always mentioned, but the contributions of these projects to the macroeconomy and their employment creation skills are not mentioned much.

Aydin stated that thanks to these infrastructure investments, which are of great importance in terms of investment amounts, an extremely effective, fast and safe mobilization opportunity is provided in the Northern Aegean, Southern Marmara, Northern Marmara and Western Trakya lines. “With the use of these routes, which we can call commercial roads, a great positive effect has been gained not only in the region, but also in a much wider area and even in the country’s economy. Thanks to the projects, the logistics chain reaching from Anatolia to Istanbul and from Istanbul to different parts of Anatolia was strengthened, while transportation became easier, faster and shortened in time.”

“It provides great support to sectors like tourism and industry, which are the apple of the eye of Turkey”

Stating that the local economies are revived on the routes where these investments pass, and great support is provided to Turkey’s favorite sectors such as tourism and industry, Dr. Aydin said:

“The last of the investments that surround the entire Marmara region as a large ring will be the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, which is still under construction. Thus, the Marmara Region, which is Turkey’s production center and gateway to exports, will be fully connected logistically. In addition to all these positive developments, it is necessary to open a separate paragraph for the employment creation of the projects. While these investments trigger both regional and economic development, they also create employment opportunities for thousands of people. While tens of thousands of people, from engineers to maintenance-repair workers, were employed in the mentioned investments, job opportunities were created for the projects’ qualified, trained, engineer and technical human resources.

With the launch of the projects, a new business line such as highway, tunnel and bridge management has emerged, and studies have been started to open departments in universities that will train human resources in these fields. Finally, the support of the projects to the local people should be mentioned. The majority of the employees in these investments are people in the regions where the investments are made. This enables the people of the region on the transit routes to reach new job opportunities, education and development. Regular and continuous trainings are offered as great importance is attached to maintaining service quality standards. In addition, local employees employed by global brands can benefit from the same training opportunities as employees in America and Europe.”

Istanbul Airport finished in record time, 183,585 people were employed

On the other hand, according to the information received, approximately 250 thousand people were employed during the construction process of these investments, which were put into use one after the other, while the number of people employed increased to over 11 thousand with the commissioning of the investments. Projects that work as ’employment factories’ make a great contribution to local employment in the regions where they are located.

Istanbul Airport, which is among the largest airports in the world, is also assertive in terms of employment. 183,585 people worked during the construction period of Istanbul Airport, which was completed and put into service in a record time of 42 months. Currently, 6,870 people are employed at Istanbul Airport. As of August 20, 2021, approximately 70 thousand people work at IGA Istanbul Airport, including all stakeholders. The project, which was started on the Black Sea coast of Istanbul on an area of 76.5 million square meters and will have 6 runways, including the main passenger terminal, will reach a passenger capacity of 200 million when all phases are completed. The first phase started operations with the main terminal building of 1.4 million square meters serving 90 million passengers per year, 3 independent and 2 auxiliary runways, an air control tower and support facilities.”

25 thousand people worked in the construction of the Northern Marmara Highway

The Northern Marmara Highway, which covers the distance between Kinali and Akyazi, which is among the most important projects of Turkey, is also of great importance in terms of employment.

A total of 25 thousand personnel were employed during the construction phase of the 400-kilometer Northern Marmara Motorway, which was completed in a short period of 3 years. After the completion of the construction works and the commissioning of the project, the number of people employed for the operation, maintenance and operation activities of the road reached 700.

700 engineers, 95% of whom were Turkish, took part in the construction of the Eurasia Tunnel

While the construction of the Eurasia Tunnel, which greatly relieved the traffic in Istanbul, took 3 years and 11 months, a total of 700 engineers, 95% of whom were Turkish, and more than 12 thousand people worked at the same time.

Approximately 500 local and international companies, which are leaders in their fields, took part in the construction process of the project, which provided employment to an average of 1,800 people per day. After the construction of the project is completed, a total of 200 people from various disciplines continue to work in order to ensure that the tunnel can provide safe and best service.

Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Northern Ring Motorway employ more than 1,000 people, 600 of which are specialists

The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Northern Ring Motorway project, which has many milestones in world engineering history, was completed in a record time of 3 years. More than 10 thousand people were employed during the construction period of the project. Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Northern Ring Motorway were put into service on August 26, 2016, and since then, a staff of 600 experts has been at work for all operation, maintenance and operation activities of the route. When the recreational facilities along the entire route are taken into account, more than 1,000 jobs are created in total.

95% of the employees on Osmangazi Bridge and Istanbul-Izmir Highway are local people

It has been a source of employment in the construction, operation, maintenance and facilities along the 450 km route of the Istanbul-Izmir Highway, which starts from Kocaeli and reaches Izmir by passing through Yalova, Bursa, Balikesir and Manisa, with the connection and provincial ring roads.

During the construction of the project, which also served as an applied university, a total of 8,500 personnel, including 600 engineers, were employed, while well-equipped managers of the next years were trained. When the 33 Oxygen Facilities located along the Istanbul-Izmir Highway operation, maintenance, management and route are calculated, the number of employees exceeds 4 thousand 85 people, with the increase in the facilities in the summer months, the number of employees exceeds 6 thousand. Almost all of the employment consists of the people of the region.

1915 Canakkale Bridge and Highway Project will also contribute to local employment

An average of 5 thousand personnel work in the 1915 Canakkale Bridge and Motorway Project, which will bring the world’s widest mid-span suspension bridge to Turkey when completed and is planned to enter service on March 18, 2022.

The project, which will accelerate the industry, trade and service sectors in Thrace and Western Anatolia with its commissioning, is expected to make a significant contribution in terms of local employment, especially in Canakkale and the surrounding provinces.

Source: AA / Translated by Irem Yildiz

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