Over the past few years, construction has become a key sector in Turkey’s economy, being one of the main drivers of both private and public investments alike.

The sector registered a growth rate of 20 per cent last year, accounting for a 4.7 per cent share of the GDP and employing about five per cent the working population.
Following a liberalisation of the economy and economic reforms, Turkey has managed to establish a large and vibrant construction industry in a relatively short time span. In 2005, for example, new building permits were issued for construction involving a total area of 99.4 million sq m.
The growth of the construction industry has resulted in a large and diversified production base for building materials, a dynamic contracting and engineering services and, though young, a strong construction and mining machinery sector.
Turkish civil engineering companies have developed the capability to design, erect, build and operate almost all kinds of civil and industrial projects including dams, hydroelectric and thermal power plants, industrial plants, airports and seaports, large-scale petroleum and natural gas pipelines, fertiliser plants, petrochemical complexes and refineries, motorways, tunnels, bridges, large housing projects, hotels and all kinds of advanced buildings.
Currently, Turkish contracting firms have more than a two per cent share of the global construction market, thanks to advanced technology, on-time delivery, quick response, high quality, use of reasonably-priced Turkish labour and goods, equipment and building materials of international standards.
The country is also among the leaders in exporting construction services with its contractors capable of competing with the world’s leading contractors in the international construction market, thanks to their reliability, creativity and cost effectiveness. During 1972 to 2006, about 700 Turkish contractors completed more than 3,600 projects in 65 countries with a total value of $89 billion.
Most of the Turkish contractors are organised under the Turkish Contractors’ Association, whose members have undertaken about 60 per cent of the domestic, and almost 95 per cent of the international projects. These projects cover a wide range of fields: civil engineering and industrial activities to large housing, high-rise and hotel projects and in recent years, airports.
Over the past few years, new markets for Turkish contractors have opened up in countries such as Ireland, India, Oman, Qatar, Afghanistan, Albania, Ghana and Mali.
According to statistics provided by the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade – International Contracting Department, Turkish contractors have undertaken 368 projects abroad last year with a total value of $15.9 billion.
Major Gulf markets for Turkish contractors abroad in 2006 were Qatar with a share of 19.4 per cent, Saudi Arabia with a share of 6.8 per cent, the UAE with a share of 6.7 per cent, Iraq with a share of 1.8 per cent and Iran with a share of 1.7 per cent. Other major markets for Turkish contractors abroad were the Russian Federation (22 per cent), Kazakhstan (9.8 per cent), Libya (8.3 per cent), according to the Turkish Contractors’ Association.
During 2000-2005, the most important fields of activity for Turkish contractors was roads/bridges/tunnels (24.5 per cent), followed by industrial plants (14.5 per cent), airports (8.3 per cent), social/cultural facilities (6.5 per cent), housing (6.1 per cent), and pipelines (5.7 per cent).

Building materials
Turkey is a also major producer of basic building materials such as cement, marble, steel, plastic and metal pipes, timber, bricks, plastic and aluminium profiles, paints and coatings, glass, ceramic tiles, sanitary ware and building hardware. During the last two decades, the building materials industry and construction services have shown remarkable growth in both production capacity and exports due to dynamism in the economy and in the construction industry.
The country’s building materials exports brought in revenues of $10.95 billion in 2006 – up by 26 per cent compared to last year, with iron and steel products valued at $6.2 billion, having been the largest product group. Within this group, iron-steel bars, sections and wires led the field with a value of $3.9 billion and pipes and pipe fittings ranked second ($1.1 million). Processed natural stone is another important revenue earner, having been worth $760 million in exports.
Distribution on the Basis of Countries (2006)
Other important building materials exports are aluminium-based ($572 million), plastic-based ($548 million) products, cement ($420 million) and processed ceramic tiles ($397 million).
The country’s building materials exports went to about 193 countries in 2006, the main markets being the UAE, the US, Iraq, the UK and Germany.
Over the past three years, Turkish exports to the Gulf have doubled in value – up from $1.2 billion and $1.9 billion, respectively, in 2004 and 2005, to $2.4 billion last year. The Gulf region absorbs about 25 per cent of the country’s exports. Again, iron and steel-based building materials made up Turkey’s largest export product group ($1.7 billion) to the Gulf last year, with share of 73 per cent of the total. Within this group, rebar accounted for the largest share with an export value of $1.4 billion, says trade statistics provided by the Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade.
The second largest item was cement ($147 million), amounting to 33 per cent of the total. Electric cables with an export value of $112 million – accounting for 5 per cent – was the third largest product for Turkish building materials export to the region. The other important exports comprised plastic-based (3 per cent), wood-based (3 per cent) and aluminium-based (2 per cent) building materials, prefabricated buildings (2 per cent), and natural stones (2 per cent).
Last year, Turkey exported building materials worth $1.1 billion to the UAE or 47 per cent of the total to the region, $716 million to Iraq (29 per cent), $265 billion to Qatar (11 per cent), $176 million to Iran with a share of 7 per cent and $84 million to Saudi Arabia (3 per cent).

Iron & steel
The iron and steel industry is well established in Turkey, being a major supplier to the construction industry. Turkey became the 11th largest steel producing country in the world by the end of 2006, when its raw steel production rose to 23.3 million tonnes. Its consumption increased to 300 kg per capita. By product type, 84.5 per cent of the country’s total steel production comprises long products, while 3.5 per cent is flat products and two per cent being special steel.
The country’s iron and steel exports reached about $6.2 billion, showing a 36 per cent growth last year, with long products accounting for 63.5 per cent in value, steel tube and pipes 17.8 per cent, and other iron-steel materials 18.8. Steel products were exported to 176 countries in the world, the country’s major markets having been the UAE, US, Spain and Italy.
Turkey's Building Material Exports to Gulf Countries ($1,000)
Turkish Construction Services abroad (2000-2005)
Today there are about 1,000 foundries in Turkey, able to produce every kind of alloyed or non-alloyed ferrous castings such as central-heating radiators, bathroom and kitchen faucets, bathtubs and shower basins for the Turkish construction industry.
Its production of welded and seamless iron and steel pipes and tubes rose to 1.9 million tonnes in 2006. Turkish iron and steel pipe sector has an important export potential, thanks to its production capacity and product quality.

Cement
Cement is produced by 57 cement plants all of which belong to the Turkish private sector. By the end of 2005, Turkey had become the 10th largest cement producer in the world, and the second largest exporter.
Last year, the country’s cement industry reach a production capacity of 66 million tonnes with an output of 47 million tonnes – some 6.8 million tonnes of which was exported mainly to Iraq, Italy, Spain and Syria.

Marble
With its vast reserves, advanced processing techniques and capacity, Turkey is one of the most important natural stone centres in the world. The country’s total estimated reserves of marble are 5.2 billion cu m (13.9 million tonnes) – around 40 per cent of the world’s total reserves.
Last year, 7.2 million tonnes of marbles were produced in Turkey. Natural stone exports were worth $1.02 billion while processed natural stone exports were valued at $760 million, destined primarily for the US, the UK, Spain, Saudi Arabia and Canada.
Turkey's Exports of Building Materials ($1,000)
Ceramics
Ceramics are amongst Turkey’s oldest and best-known products and the country ranks fifth among the world’s leading ceramic wall and floor tiles producers (having produced some 261 million sq m last year) and fourth in ceramic sanitary ware production. Ceramic tile exports were valued at $397 million in 2006.
The country produced 22.5 million units of sanitary ware, exports about $189 million worth of these products last year.
Apart from its large production capacity, the country is renowned for the exquisite designs and superior quality of its wall and floor tiles and sanitary ware. Most of the large-scale companies comply with ISO 9000 standards as well as the relevant standards adopted by major markets.

Glass
The glass industry is one of the most important and highly developed industries in Turkey. Today, a group of companies – namely T Sise ve Cam Fab – accounts for approximately 90 per cent of the country’s annual production with its 26 manufacturing and 10 marketing and financial companies. In addition to this group, there are about 20 large and medium-scale firms active in the sector.
The Turkish glass industry accounts for about 8 per cent of the world’s total production, with building glass production amounting to approximately 1.1 million tonnes in 2006. Flat glass accounts for the bulk of this production (850,000 tonnes).

Plastic
Turkey currently has about 7,000 plastics processing companies, mainly small and medium-scale, which meet world standards in terms of raw materials, semi-finished and finished products. Over the recent past, the country has witnessed an increase in the production and consumption of plastic building materials, especially plastic doors and windows, which has made it the third largest producer of the latter product in Europe.
In 2005, the country produced 208,000 tonnes of plastic doors and windows.

Paints & coatings
In tandem with the developments in the construction sector, the paints and coatings industry has also flourished to become one of the most dynamic sectors of the Turkish Industry. Turkey ranks sixth in Europe in the production of paints.
The country’s paint industry comprises about 350 manufacturers with a total capacity of 800,000 tonnes. Paints for the construction sector 280,000 tonnes in 2006 – 53 per cent of total production

Machinery
Construction and mining machinery accounts for 6.5 per cent of the country’s total machinery production and eight per cent of its machinery exports.
Turkey is one of the world’s richest countries in minerals, with approximately 4,400 mineral deposits. It produces 53 different minerals today, being a major producer of boron minerals, feldspar, marble, baryte, celestite, emery, limestone, magnesite, perlite, pumice, copper and chromite.
Turkey's Exports of Construction and Mining Machinery (Value: $1,000)
Modern production equipment, the presence of new technologies and methods have been important factors in the development of its mining sector and developments in the mining sector, especially in marble production, have accelerated the growth of the mining machinery sector.
Among the myriad construction and mining machinery and components manufactured and exported by the country are pulley tackles, hoists other than skip hoists, winches, capstans, jacks, derricks, cranes, straddle carriers, works trucks fitted with cranes or lifting and handling equipment, forklift trucks, lifting, handling, loading and unloading machinery, self-propelled bulldozers, graders and excavators, earthmoving, grading, scraping and boring machinery, spare parts of construction machinery and special-purpose vehicles for persons.
While the crane sector includes about 50 manufacturers, backhoe loaders and excavators are among the fast developing products in the machinery sector. At present, backhoe loaders account for about 40 per cent and excavators for about 30 per cent in the total sales of construction and mining machinery – a trend which is expected to continue.
The Turkish construction and mining machinery industry comprises more than 1,200 companies – mainly medium and small-sized entities – and employs about 7,900 workers. Manufacturing sites are mainly located in the Marmara, Central Anatolian and Aegean regions of Turkey, with Istanbul, Konya and Ankara being the main centres.
Turkish construction and mining machinery producers compete with international producers both in the domestic as well as in foreign markets. Total exports of the sector reached $530.4 million in 2006, a 22 per cent increase over the previous year.
Among product groups, construction and mining machinery spare parts are the most traded items, accounting for about 57 per cent of the total machinery exports. The other important export product group is special-purpose motor vehicles, accounting for 15 per cent of the total exports of the sector.
Turkish-made construction and mining machinery were exported to almost 142 countries worldwide. Major export markets include Germany, the UK, Italy, Russia, Kazakhstan, Iraq, Algeria, the Netherlands and the US. Construction and mining machinery manufacturers/exporters follow European and international standards and norms and since 2002 are required to affix the “CE mark” on their products

Export
Spearheading Turkish exports in the global arena is IGEME – the Export Promotion Centre of Turkey – which is aggressive in its endeavours to increase Turkish export products in various markets. Such efforts have included promoting the country at international fairs, including two leading fairs in Dubai, Index and The Big 5 show, where IGEME will be organising the country’s pavilion.
Turkey’s participation in The Big 5 show has steadily expanded year on year. The country made its debut at the show in 2000 with 16 companies in a 360 sq m pavilion. At this year’s event – to be held from November 25 to 29 – the Turkish pavilion will spread over a total area of 1,395 sq m in two separate national pavilions with a total of 76 companies participating.
Major products to be exhibited in the Turkish pavilions include marble, travertine, limestone tiles and slabs, other kinds of natural stones, kitchen utensils and furniture, ceramics and sanitary ware, saunas, cabin systems, plastic, steel and aluminium doors and windows, plastic profiles, plastic pipes and fittings, plastic and aluminium processing machines, plastic pipe welding and cutting machines, cutting and bending machines for reinforcing bars, industrial storage systems, wires and mesh wires and fences, forged iron accessories, iron manhole covers, steel angles, rounds and bars, bolts and anchors, water tanks, pressure tanks, closed expansion vessels, various types of pumps, valves, industrial coolers, flexible ventilation ducts, flexible hoses, water treatment plants, concrete batching plants, concrete block production machines, aerated concrete blocks, concrete and aggregate testing equipment, plate compactors, asphalt cutting machines, steel construction, prefabricated buildings, roofing materials, rubber gaskets and seals, electric hand tools, paint brushes and electronic security systems.
The country is confident that the Big 5 Show will foster greater cooperation between Turkey and the UAE as well as other Gulf countries.