ANKARA: Turkey’s government has received initial applications for TL 15.4 billion ($4.34 billion) worth of regional projects, the country’s development minister said on Wednesday. “Although I have not announced it yet, pre-requests for our Attraction Centers Program reached TL 15.4 billion as of today [Dec. 28],” Development Minister Lütfi Elvan tweeted. Minister Elvan said it was foreseen that demand for such projects would create an estimated 93,000 jobs in the country’s eastern provinces. The government announced on June 17 it would introduce problem-free investment zones for companies in eastern Turkey, where some of the country’s most underdeveloped regions are located.
Under the program, the government will carry out infrastructure and civil service works for the investor who will take ownership of his/her investment when the project is completed. The Turkish government aims to ensure high growth in the coming years after its economy contracted 1.8 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2016, the first time since 2009. The government also wants the development program to empower young women to be entrepreneurs in 26 regions.
According to officials, the program will also help prevent migration from eastern Turkey to bigger provinces, such as Istanbul and Ankara. In October, the government released details of its medium-term program for 2017-2019 which, it said, would eliminate the impact of terrorism. The government also strengthened the financial structures of Turkey’s development bank in order to support more regional investment.
