Aegean Businessmen: ‘Industry should be moved from Istanbul to Konya-Aksaray region’

Manisa TSO Chairman Mehmet Yılmaz called for the transfer of industrial facilities to the Konya-Aksaray region, which has no earthquake risk, instead of establishing new OIZs in Istanbul, where a major earthquake is expected.

Mehmet Yılmaz, Chairman of Manisa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that “The earthquake is a painful truth that we have forgotten for a long time. I am also an earthquake survivor. I experienced that pain in the 1999 Gölcük earthquake. Unfortunately, it should be noted that it only comes to the fore when such events occur in our country. Turkey is situated in an earthquake zone. 25 cities in Turkey have been established in an area that would be primarily affected by the earthquake, and 42 percent of the country’s population lives in the earthquake zone.”

“ INDUSTRIAL ZONES IN ISTANBUL NEED TO BE MOVED”

Yılmaz stated that “About the expected Istanbul earthquake, which has been frequently mentioned recently, we say “Istanbul earthquake. What’s the point of piling everything in Istanbul? Istanbul represents nearly 55 percent of the Turkish industry. We are moving many units from Ankara to Istanbul. We are opening new OIZs and new industrial sites around Istanbul. When we express these industrial sites in proportion to the population of Istanbul, this makes an area equivalent to 2-3 districts of Manisa. You are expecting an earthquake and you are building new settlements in anticipation of an earthquake. This is a contradiction. It’s easy to criticize, but is there a solution to this? Of course, there is. Here is the solution: You have areas between Konya and Aksaray that will not be affected by an earthquake. There are 100 thousand acres of land. These are non-agricultural areas. You have to move at least 35 percent of Istanbul’s industry there.