Turkish construction firms' overseas projects total $29.3B in 2021: Official
Country breaks yearly record of projects undertaken in single country, with $11.2B in Russia, says trade minister
ANKARA
The Turkish construction industry nearly doubled the volume of its overseas projects last year for a total of $29.3 billion, according to the country's trade minister.
"The total number of projects undertaken by our country's contractors in 131 countries so far has reached 11,093, and the total value of the projects undertaken has increased to $451.5 billion," Mehmet Mus said during a program organized by the Turkish Contractors' Association.
"Our contractors have brought an average of $650 million worth of construction service income to our country annually," he said, underlining that the services sector is the "apple of the eye" of the Turkish economy, with its net foreign exchange inflow, high employment, and positive contribution to the export of goods.
Pointing out that Turkiye's construction sector has been one of the leading actors in the global construction industry since the 1970s, Mus drew attention to the challenged that the sector has recently been facing.
He said the total cost of the projects undertaken by Turkish contractors abroad decreased by 20% in 2020 compared to the previous year, to $15 billion.
"Though there was a significant shrinkage in 2020 with the effect of the pandemic, 2021 was a year in which the Turkish construction industry recovered," he noted.
Turkey has been robustly boosting its activity in Sub-Saharan Africa, with 17% of its projects in 2021 being in this region on a value basis, he said. Of the remaining, Mus added, 55% was in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), 13% in the Middle East, and 10% in Europe.
"Among these ratios, Sub-Saharan Africa surpassed our traditional market, the Middle East, this year," he noted.
"On the other hand, as in previous years, Russia ranks first among the countries where we reached a new record project cost," said Mus, adding that in 2021, Turkish construction firms reached an all-time high in total cost of projects undertaken in a single country over a calendar year, with $11.2 billion in Russia.
*Writing by Aysu Bicer
