Turkish contractors ink $26 billion global deals

The volume of international contracts won by Turkish construction firms reached $26.1 billion in 2012, a 31 percent increase from a year earlier, breaking an all-time record, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan has said. "The construction sector carried out 433 projects abroad that raised project values to $26.1 billion by a 31 percent increase from 2011 to 2012. While the total value of the projects abroad hiked in 2012, their average value per project also increased from $40 million to $60 million when compared to 2011," he said. Turkmenistan ranked first by a 18.8 percent share of the projects' value among target markets, said Caglayan, adding that the investments in this country contributed significantly to breaking the record, with 80 projects worth $4.9 billion. The construction sector also assumed 114 projects worth $4.4 billion in Iraq, where Turkish firms invested the most. Turkish construction firms are largely active in reconstructing northern Iraq. Caglayan also pointed out that the Turkish firms would reinvest in Libya in 2013 after a rupture in the construction business between the two countries. Construction companies got projects for the first time in 2012 in Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Somalia and Peru, increasing the total number of countries where construction companies have had contracts to 100.