Turkish construction and contracting industry

The Turkish construction and contracting industry is one of the key sectors of Turkey's economy.

Skyline of Levent business district in Istanbul

Earthquakes

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Some contractors and construction companies in Turkey have been accused of corruption for their lack of compliance with the latest safety regulations and laws, causing many deaths in earthquakes.[1]

Climate change

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Turkey is the sixth-largest cement producer in the world and the largest in Europe.[2] In 2020 Turkey exported 30 million tonnes, worth almost US$1 billion,[2] and was the largest source of EU cement imports.[3] Cement (clinker) production in 2021 emitted 44 Mt CO2, 8% of the country's total GHG.[4]: 155  Climate Trace has estimated the contributions of individual factories, sometimes from kiln heat visible from satellites,[5] and says that Nuh, Göltaş, and Medcem cement plants emitted more than 1 Mt each in 2023.[6] Nuh publish information about their emissions and say some of their cement is low emission,[7] and Medcem publishes some figures[8] whereas Göltaş has less GHG info.[9]

Turkey's construction sector contracted at the end of 2018[10] and so used less cement.[11] Cement producers in the EU have to buy EU carbon credits, and say the CBAM is needed to protect them from unfair competition from Turkish companies as they pay no carbon price.[12] The CBAM could be up to 50% on the cement price.[13] The proportion of clinker in publicly procured cement is being reduced.[14]: section 4.2.2.1 

There are almost 10 million buildings in Turkey,[14]: section 4.2.3  and as they are the largest energy consumers there are substantial opportunities for energy savings in both new build and renovations.[15] There is a roadmap, which says that as of 2021 three quarters of building stock is pre-21st century, that is pre energy standards.[16] A typical residential building emits almost 50 kgCO2eq/m2/year, mostly due to the energy used by residents.[17] The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has said that more could be done to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, and that tax incentives offered for this would create jobs.[18]: 62  Turkey was a co-leader of the group discussing zero-carbon buildings at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, and the city of Eskişehir has pledged to convert all existing buildings to zero emissions by 2050.[19][20] Such energy efficiency improvements can be made in the same programme as increasing resilience to earthquakes in Turkey.[21] However, in 2020 gas was subsidized.[22]: 18  Increasing the proportion of passive houses has been suggested,[23] as has adopting some EU building standards.[24]

Although low-energy houses, zero-energy buildings and zero carbon housing will be encouraged,[14]: section 4.2.3.1  the 2024 long-term plan said that “The existing natural gas transmission and distribution infrastructure will be strengthened, and natural gas access will be provided in areas where renewable sources and waste heat-based district heating/cooling systems are not technically or economically feasible.”[14]: section 4.2.1.1  In rural areas without a piped gas supply, heat pumps could be an alternative to wood, coal and bottled gas: but buying a heat pump is rare as it is very expensive for householders as there is no subsidy.[25]: 29  However, owners of larger properties such as shopping centres, schools and government buildings have shown more interest.[26]

Direct geothermal heating (not to be confused with heat pumps) installed capacity totaled 3.5 GW thermal (GWt) in 2020, with the potential for 60 GWt, but it is unclear how much is low-carbon.[27] According to a 2020 report commissioned by the environment ministry and the EBRD further research on Turkish geothermal is needed: specifically how to limit carbon dioxide venting to the atmosphere.[28]: 283, 284 

There is no data on the carbon intensity of cement.[29]: 13  Emissions from cement production could be lessened by reducing its clinker content[30]—for example, by making Limestone Calcined Clay Cement, which is only half clinker. The second-largest reduction could be made by switching half the fuel from hard coal and petroleum coke (petcoke) to a mixture of rubber from waste tires, refuse-derived fuel and biomass.[31] Although the country has enough of these materials, most cement kilns (there are 54[4]: 156 ) use coal, petcoke or lignite as their primary energy source.[4]: 154  More cross-laminated timber could be used for building, instead of concrete.[32]

Further decarbonisation of cement production would depend heavily on carbon capture,[14]: section 4.2.2.1  perhaps storing in a salt dome near Lake Tuz[33] or in Diyarbakır Province.[34] Thinktank Ember suggest that rooftop solar should be mandatory on new buildings, and say that installation on apartment block roofs is hindered by bureaucracy.[35] To improve the energy efficiency of buildings it has been suggested that green building principles and technologies should be applied.[36]

Turkish contracting in the international market

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During the periods in which investments slowed down in the public and private sectors, foreign contracting services gained importance. The shrinking of the economy in Turkey and the bottleneck in the construction sector resulting from it, has forced construction companies to concentrate more on business abroad.[citation needed]

The opening of the Turkish contractors to foreign markets started at the beginning of the 1970s. The first country to which Turkish contractors exported their services was Libya, where they started their projects by importing the necessary technology from European countries.[37]

Later on, the growing Turkish contracting services expanded to other foreign markets such as Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Iran. Particularly during the 1970s, 90% of the expatriate works undertaken were realized in Arab countries.[citation needed] Since the beginning of the 1980s, the Turkish Contractors have oriented themselves more towards the former Soviet Union countries.[citation needed] In the 1990s, due to the economic depression and the political uncertainties in the Middle Eastern and North African countries, the Turkish Contractors have focused predominantly on the Commonwealth of Independent States, Eastern Europe and Asian countries. In this framework, they have undertaken important projects in the Russian Federation, Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Central Asian Republics, Germany, Pakistan and the Far East.[37]

From the beginning of the 1970s to the end of 2022, Turkish contractors have completed more than 11,605 projects in 133 countries.[38] Their business volume abroad has reached 472 billion US Dollars in 2022.[38] The Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) currently[when?] has 139 members from Turkeys main contracting companies.[37] 90% of the members of TCA is composed of engineers and architects. These are responsible for the realisation of 70% of domestic construction works and 80% of over 4,200 projects undertaken in 69 countries.[37]

High rises can be seen in the skyline of Istanbul, the most populated city in Turkey and Europe

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Turkey's earthquakes show the deadly extent of construction scams". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-02-13.
  2. ^ a b "Turkey cement exports reach US$1bn in 2020". International Cement Review. 21 December 2020. Archived from the original on 22 December 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2021.
  3. ^ Gordon, Noah J. (19 May 2021). "EU presses ahead with tariff on embedded emissions". Eco-Business. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
  4. ^ a b c Turkish Greenhouse Gas Inventory 1990 - 2021 [TurkStat report]. Turkish Statistical Institute (Technical report). 14 April 2023.
  5. ^ "Cement" (PDF). GitHub.
  6. ^ "Explore map - Climate TRACE". Climate trace. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  7. ^ "Our Carbon Footprint". Nuh Çimento. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  8. ^ "2023 Sustainability Report" (PDF). p. 39.
  9. ^ "Göltaş Çimento A.Ş." www.goltas.com.tr. Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  10. ^ "Turkey's economy tips into recession as lira crisis bites". Reuters. 11 March 2019. Archived from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  11. ^ Mercan, Muhammet. "Turkish industrial production grows 7.9%". ING Group. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021. Retrieved 5 April 2020. cement production ... shows the extent of activity in construction
  12. ^ "Polish Cement Association predicts fall in cement sales in 2021 and reviews challenges of carbon neutrality". globalcement.com. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  13. ^ Turkey could face over $900 million in CBAM-related export costs: Report. IHS Markit (Report). 12 August 2021.
  14. ^ a b c d e 2053 long term climate strategy (PDF) (Report). Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change. November 2024.
  15. ^ Ayas, Ceren (August 2020). Decarbonization of Turkey's economy: long-term strategies and immediate challenges (Report). Climate Action Network Europe, SEE Change Net, TEPAV. TR2015/DG/01/A5-02/147A.
  16. ^ https://wrisehirler.org/sites/default/files/Turkiye%20Building%20Sector%20Decarbonization%20Roadmap...pdf
  17. ^ Atmaca, Adem; Atmaca, Nihat (2022-03-15). "Carbon footprint assessment of residential buildings, a review and a case study in Turkey". Journal of Cleaner Production. 340: 130691. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2022.130691. ISSN 0959-6526. S2CID 246561830.
  18. ^ OECD Economic Surveys: Turkey 2021 (Report). OECD. 2021. ISSN 1999-0480.
  19. ^ "12 global initiatives to beat back climate threats". Reuters. 23 September 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 27 September 2019.
  20. ^ Renewables 2020 Global Status Report. REN21 (Report). p. 62. ISBN 978-3-948393-00-7. Archived from the original on 24 May 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2020.
  21. ^ "World Bank Provides $265 million Boost to Improve Earthquake Resilience and Energy Efficiency of Public Buildings in Turkey". World Bank. Retrieved 10 June 2021.
  22. ^ "Still Not Getting Energy Prices Right: A Global and Country Update of Fossil Fuel Subsidies". IMF. Retrieved 2021-10-06.
  23. ^ "Sıfır Enerji ve Pasif Ev Derneği" [Zero energy and passive house association]. Sıfır Enerji ve Pasif Ev Derneği – SEPEV (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
  24. ^ Hatipoglu, Hatice Kalfaoglu; Cetin, Rukiye; Hatipoglu, Atilla (2022-09-21). "Sustainable housing: Analysis of energy performance potential in Turkey with translation of building standards of Austria". Građevinar (in Croatian). 74 (8): 647–659. doi:10.14256/JCE.3332.2021. ISSN 0350-2465. S2CID 252447067.
  25. ^ "Turkey's Strategic Energy Efficiency Plan-an Ex Ante Impact Assessment of the Residential Sector". ResearchGate. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
  26. ^ Cetin, Aysegul; Kadioglu, Yusuf Kagan; Paksoy, Halime (1 April 2020). "Underground thermal heat storage and ground source heat pump activities in Turkey". Solar Energy. 200: 22–28. Bibcode:2020SoEn..200...22C. doi:10.1016/j.solener.2018.12.055. ISSN 0038-092X. S2CID 127200801.
  27. ^ "Turkey only outranked by China in direct utilization of geothermal energy". Think GeoEnergy – Geothermal Energy News. 4 April 2020. Archived from the original on 27 April 2020. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
  28. ^ Stantec Mühendislik ve Müşavirlik Ltd.Şti (December 2020). Cumulative Impact Assessment of Geothermal Resources in Turkey. www.jeotermaletki.com (Report). Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of the Republic of Turkey and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
  29. ^ "Turkey 2020" (PDF). Climate Transparency.
  30. ^ "Cement – Fuels & Technologies". International Energy Agency. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  31. ^ "Abstract on the potential GHG emissions reduction in Turkey through the cement industry" (PDF). Cementis GmbH. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 March 2019. Retrieved 21 March 2019.
  32. ^ "Promoting Low Cost Energy Efficient Wooden Buildings in Turkey" (PDF). Global Environment Facility. Archived (PDF) from the original on 1 August 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
  33. ^ Glomazic, Rade; Raptsun, Mykola. "EU Carbon Capture and Storage Directive Preliminary Regulatory Impact Assessment (Pre-RIA)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 30 April 2019.
  34. ^ Firtina Ertiş, İrem. "Application of Multi-criteria Decision Making for Geological Carbon Dioxide Storage Area in Turkey". Anadolu University Journal of Science and Technology A- Applied Sciences and Engineering. Archived from the original on 30 April 2019. Retrieved 17 June 2019.
  35. ^ "Türkiye can expand solar by 120 GW through rooftops". Ember. 2023-12-11. Retrieved 2023-12-28.
  36. ^ "Enhancing Turkey's policy framework for energy efficiency of buildings, and recommendations for the way forward based on international experiences" (PDF). Buildings Performance Institute Europe and SHURA Energy Transition Center. June 2019.
  37. ^ a b c d The Turkish Contractors Association Archived December 18, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  38. ^ a b "Turkish International Contracting Services, 1972-2022". Turkish Contractors Association. Retrieved 14 January 2024.
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