Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu attended the “2^nd All Aspects of Urban Transformation Congress” organized by the Environment and Urbanism Ministry and Contractors Confederation (İMKON).  In his speech he pointed out that three important issues are apparent for the business community worldwide: Rapid growth of the middle class resulting in increased urbanization speed; cities taking over role of main competitor instead of cities in global competition; and entrepreneurship becoming the primary factor in international competition.

Pointing out the relevance of these three issues to the construction sector, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “The middle class is growing in our country, settling in cities. The percentage of the population living in cities has reached 75% and it is increasing.”

Stating that as people become richer, their demands exponentially increase, TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu pointed out that the construction sector is a driving force for Turkey and should be considered to have strategic importance.

Pointing out the importance of the sector in training entrepreneurs as well, the TOBB President stated that the construction sector is the most important link in the traditional capital accumulation process.

Hisarcıklıoğlu reported that the construction sector has performed as per projections in 2014 while sales have fallen short.

Pointing out that the success of the construction sector is not confined to Turkey; Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that Turkish contractors are undertaking projects of the utmost quality, pulling ahead of many other countries with 42 companies in the top global 250 on a global scale while following China in regards to the number of active companies in the sector, “Turkish contractors have come to take on high added value projects, prepare projects as well as design them.”