The “Forum on the Reconstruction of Ukraine” organized by the Turkish Contractors Association (TMB) was held in Istanbul with the participation of Oleksandr Kubrakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Reconstruction and Minister of Communities, Regions and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, and Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat, Minister of Trade.
Expressing his heartfelt sympathy for the suffering caused by the war and his hope that the human tragedy will end as soon as possible, TMB President Erdal Eren said: “Ukraine is a reliable partner and a country of special importance for our sector. We know that the Ukrainian authorities, with a similar sense of trust, have realized a total of 301 projects worth approximately 10 billion dollars with Turkish companies so far.” Emphasizing that as Turkish contractors, they continue their activities to repair and build strategic infrastructure elements during the difficult process in Ukraine, and that they try to support the Ukrainian state and people in this way, President Eren said, “Since the day the war started in Ukraine, the Turkish Contractors Association has taken initiatives to establish a “Turkey-Ukraine Joint Task Force for the Reconstruction of Ukraine”.
Erdal Eren made the following statement:
“I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation, which includes the establishment of the “Joint Task Force for the Reconstruction of Ukraine” signed in Lviv on August 18, 2022 under the auspices of our President and the President of Ukraine at the Ministerial level, constitutes the basis of all these steps and sheds light on the future. The “Implementation Principles for the Turkey-Ukraine Reconstruction Task Force” will be an important stage of the initiated process. The arm of the Task Force in the field is the TMB.”
Turkish contractors ready for duty
Underlining that the participation of the ambassadors of partner countries and representatives of international organizations who are ready to cooperate with Turkish contractors in the reconstruction activities to be carried out in Ukraine in the Forum was also pleasing, Eren continued his speech as follows; “As Turkish contracting companies, I would like to state once again that we are ready and willing to take part in all kinds of infrastructure and superstructure projects that your country needs. Our contracting companies also operate as investors in many countries of the world in various fields such as construction materials production, energy, tourism, health and transportation.”
China to Europe in 26 days with the Development Road,
Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, noted that Turkey is in a strategically important position and said, “Turkey is one of the most important countries of the middle corridor in terms of transportation and trade corridors. If the Development Road project in Iraq had been completed, a product could reach Europe from China in 26 days. Now this time is 45 days due to the use of the Cape of Good Hope. In 2024, we will make an important progress regarding the Development Road project.”
Speaking at the forum, Trade Minister Prof. Dr. Ömer Bolat said, “We had signed the Memorandum of Understanding on the cooperation of Turkish companies with Ukrainian authorities in the reconstruction and reconstruction of Ukraine with Mr. Kubrakov during the visit of our President in 2022. Our teams worked meticulously on the text of the ‘Implementation Principles for the Turkey-Ukraine Reconstruction Task Force’, which will be instrumental in the implementation of this Memorandum of Understanding and the transformation of mutual intentions into concrete actions. We have been wishing to sign the ‘Implementation Principles’ for some time, and today we were able to do so.”
Projects in Ukraine reached USD 9.7 billion
Stating that he would like to organize a visit to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, together with Turkish contracting companies, Bolat continued his words as follows: “Our contractors have signed more than 300 projects in Ukraine in airports, highways, bridges and many different fields, and the total value of these projects has reached USD 9.7 billion. Ukraine is the 12th country with the highest number of projects undertaken by our contractors. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine in 2022, our companies have successfully completed 70 projects worth approximately USD 1 billion.”
