Turkish exports from Technoparks top $4B

ANKARA

Turkey's technoparks made $4.1 billion worth of exports since their establishment in 2001 through last July, data from the country's Industry and Technology Ministry showed Wednesday.

Numbering only two in 2001, the amount of technoparks shot up to 84 across 56 provinces, according to the data compiled by Anadolu Agency.

Technoparks gather entrepreneurs, researchers and academics to support the country's high-tech production.

While 11 technoparks are located in Istanbul, the capital Ankara hosts nine, the industrial province of Kocaeli five and the country's third-largest province Izmir four.

Around 55,000 people -- more than 80% being research and development personnel -- are employed by some 5,400 firms in the parks.

Over 32,000 projects have been completed so far in the technoparks, while 9,106 are currently ongoing.

A plurality -- 41% -- of firms in technoparks work in computer programming, while the rest are active in several fields including natural sciences, biotechnology, manufacturing, and energy.

*Writing by Gokhan Ergocun