Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

The first elective meeting of the Council was held at TOBB Twin Towers to elect the Presidential Council under the chairmanship of TOBB Board Member Hakan Ülken and to consult on current issues of the sector.

Speaking at the opening of the meeting, TOBB Board Member Hakan Ülken said that the purpose and working principles of the Sector Councils are an effective mechanism that works in cooperation with the public. Ülken stated that he believes that Turkey will play an important role in increasing its share in the field of construction, contracting, consultancy, branding in the international arena and consultancy service exports with the work of the Technical Consultancy Council of Turkey in this sense.

- Election of the Presidential Council

After the opening speech, the election of the Presidential Council was held. H. İrfan Aker, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Turkish Association of Consulting Engineers and Architects (TürkMMMB), was unanimously elected Council President while Ali Kerim Orhon, Managing Partner of Su-İş Project Engineering Consultancy Ltd was elected Council Vice President.

The Technical Consultancy Council set out to determine the roadmap for Turkey's branding process. Domestic technical consultancy services, foreign technical consultancy services and price difference were the agenda topics of the first meeting.

It was stated that technical consultancy services in Turkey are becoming more difficult day by day, service tenders are decreasing, companies have to compete in tenders in order to manage themselves due to the shortage of projects, and tenders end with excessive breakdowns.

It was stated that bids were submitted above the estimated prices due to excessive price increases and tenders were cancelled due to lack of funding, making firms and the sector difficult.

It was noted that Turkish engineering, consultancy and architecture companies will experience reductions in their activities abroad in the near future due to domestic problems. In order to enter tenders abroad and to obtain qualifications (usually since references in the last 5 years are requested), it is obvious that our companies that do not have sufficient work, similar jobs and references in Turkey will have difficulty entering the foreign market. The importance of price difference for the technical consultancy sector was emphasized.

Emphasizing that primary and/or secondary legislation changes should be made in which there will be provisions that do not envisage a price difference in the contract, which are in progress or will be tendered after this, and which will ensure that the price difference is paid for the works to be contracted, Council President Irfan Aker decided to prepare the Technical Consultancy Council opinion and deliver it to the relevant institution immediately regarding the Price Difference Decrees prepared by the Public Procurement Agency, starting off the new term rapidly.