The first meeting of the year 2017, held within the context of Agenda Meetings organized by Turkey IMSAD quarterly, was held in Ortaköy Feriye on Wednesday, April 26th. At the Agenda Meetings gathering; the anticipation of the construction and building materials sectors by 2017, and the proposed solutions were discussed. Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkey IMSAD Ferdi Erdoğan made the opening speech at the Agenda Meetings, Turkey IMSAD Economy and Strategy Advisory Services Head, Can Fuat Gürlesel and journalist Metehan Demir participated.
Erdogan: “The increase in building permits gives hope”
IMSAD Chairman Ferdi Erdoğan, who started by sharing the latest data and evaluations about the sector, said, “2016 was a challenging year and all of us have a high expectation from 2017. The uptrend in foreign exchange rates leads to increased costs in production and to a limited demand in the housing sector. When we make an assessment in terms of Construction Materials Industries, even though it looks like the market is livelier than expected, it is evident that the most important problems in the industry are the increasing opening of sales periods, difficulties in collection, competition in the costs of the projects, threatening the quality of materials and application, and encouragement of informality. This could lead to a slow- paced growth in the construction sector in 2017. However, an increase of 7.3 percent in construction permits received in 2016 is a hope for the sector. “ he concluded.
The sector caught up with the growth momentum, even in a difficult period
Ferdi Erdoğan continued his speech as follows: “According to the revision of TURKSTAT’s national income calculations, we saw that the construction sector grew by 7.2 percent in 2016. It is important for the sector to have such a growth momentum even in a difficult period like 2016. Construction expenditures in 2016 amounted to 431.9 billion TL. The share of the construction sector in national income reached its highest level with 8.5 percent in 2016. Public investments as well as campaigns launched by large real estate companies keep the industry alive. Particularly if low-interest loans continue, citizens who intend to buy housing can also advance their demands. I think that the support and incentive packages that the government announced last year will be reflected positively in the sector this year. “
Investment climate should be provided for the stabilization of our country
Ferdi Erdoğan, who expressed his belief that a recovery process will start in the economy following the referendum period, said, “We should focus on the projects that will carry our country up as soon as possible. As a developing country; our economy, integrated with the world, needs to be able to continue sustainable development, growth, employment and national income needs to reach to and pass, the middle income level as soon as possible. In general terms, as the construction sector and in particular terms, as the construction material industry, we want to continue to be a locomotive task in development. At present, the most important solution for the stabilization of our country is undoubtedly stability in the economy, increase of employment and re-establishment of an investment climate. In recent years, the Turkish construction sector, with its contractors, construction materials, engineers, technical staff and masters, is undertaking very important roles in the construction of the geography surrounding it and in reaching modern constructions. As the wars that are continuing in the environment, coming to an end, also, with the end of terror; with the normalization of the lives of the people of the region, we will continue to contribute to the development, modernization and leadership of the geography we are in, as a sector “. he concluded.
‘Urban transformation’ should be planned, not ‘structural transformation
Emphasizing that one of the most important agenda items for Turkey, located on the earthquake zone is ‘urban transformation’, Ferdi Erdoğan said, “Almost 90-95% of our population lives on earthquake zones. Urbanization will continue until reaching 85 per cent. Earthquakes can happen anytime anywhere in our country and 7 million homes in our country are insecure in terms of earthquake risk. We have to manage the process of ‘urban transformation’ very well. As it is now applied, we must remove the ‘structural transformation’ and create a transformation plan that is more focused on human, environment and urban texture. As Turkey IMSAD, we are ready to do what we have to do within our responsibility for this. We often express this to the public, “he said.
The Building Act will be a move that will uplift the entire country
“A very urgent Building Act is needed in Turkey. This act will not only uplift a sector but it would be a move that will carry the whole country to another level.” Ferdi Erdoğan said and he added: “The work carried out by the Higher Science Institute of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and our association, on the preparation of a new “General Technical Specification for Construction” has started. In the past days, the Ministry officials and our association members came together. This work is valuable in terms of both the content and the ministry-NGO (STK)-Private Sector cooperation. We hope that it will be completed as soon as possible and that the new specification will come into force..”
Hinginar: “Growth in the world slowed down”
F. Fethi Hinginar, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Turkey’s IMSAD, who has undertaken as the moderator of the session, emphasized that the world has entered a serious slowdown and said, “We have now went down to 15 billion dollars, we were racing the automotive sector with 22 billion dollars before. In recent years, the growth rate provided by China’s contribution has fallen below 2 percent. There has been talks about it going down straight towards zero. We have to take this into consideration in Turkey. Trump’s election as president had repercussions, and it will continue in this way. We also have to follow carefully the elections in the EU countries. All of this is seriously affecting Turkey, and they will keep affecting, “he concluded.
Demir: “A serious cabinet revision can be expected”
Journalist Metehan Demir shared the evaluations and predictions of the agenda after the referendum. “Sometimes we feel like the country is going to be overwhelmed by crossing big oceans that it will drown in small streams. We are not a country that deserves this, “Demir said.” After 15 July, everyone was in great confusion, but the main actor of the economy, the private sector, went to work on the first Monday morning. This is a demonstration of confidence in the future of this country. “Demir said, “When they saw me in the old days, they said,” What is the news? “They say now,” Where are we going? “This question contains a tone of despair. In the world, economy, foreign policy and domestic politics cannot move independent from each other. Turkey is a country that feels the effects of this to its core. Pointers in the last few years indicate that the situation in Turkey is not very good. In Turkey, we are going into a political polarization. I see this as an important risk. We need to learn to tell apart what is good, and what is bad. “ he said. Demir noted that until 2019 another election would not be tried, but President Erdogan could make a serious cabinet revision after he receives the “President from a Party” status.
Gürlesel: “Construction will show high performance compared to other sectors”
Turkey IMSAD Economic Advisor Dr. Can Fuat Gürlesel has been evaluating the global and Turkish economy. “A slowing down in growth in the world economy seems to have been eluded in the first 4 months. It is anticipated that a growth rate of around 2 percent is expected to be permanent. “he said. Gürlesel said, in summary: “There is a relative revival in the Turkish economy in the first 3-4 months of the year. It seems that the support provided by the general public is effective in this revival. I do not think this is sustainable. Because there is serious amount of public spending is effective in this revival. Economic climate in Turkey needs to be normalized. There is an upward trend in inflation. Interests are expected to continue at the same level. We do not expect any appreciation in the Turkish Lira until the end of the year. The determinant of 2017 will be building permits. This year looks promising. There is an increase in housing permits. Despite all the difficulties in building permits, the year 2016 has been completed with a small increase. In the first 3 months of the year, 325 thousand new homes are sold with the support of the government. The sale of new housing is 145 thousand. There is a 5.3 percent decline in the production of Construction Materials. Building construction costs have increased significantly in recent months. Apart from the price increase, there is no possibility of balancing. The construction sector will perform relatively better than other sectors, but I do not think it will be at a level that will satisfy us. “
