'Konya-Karaman-Mersin Industrial and Trade Corridor Study and Feasibility Project' conducted by TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE ended with the closing workshop and sharing of the project findings. Participants from the public sector, civil society, private sector and universities contributed to the workshop with a large number of participants.
The Closing Workshop started with the opening speech of Mr. İhsan BOSTANCI, President of Konya Plain Project (KOP) Regional Development Administration and continued with the speech of Mr. Tezer BATTAL, Director of TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE Institute. The protocol speeches ended with the evaluations of Konya Deputy Ziya ALTUNYALDIZ about the project. The first session of the closing workshop was completed with the presentation of the findings obtained as a result of the studies and analyzes carried out by Chief Researcher Dr. İsmail ÖNDEN.
In the second session, with the participation of participants from the public, private sector, non-governmental organizations and universities, the work was completed by following the steps of the Common Sense Platform method, which is a registered product of TÜBİTAK TÜSSİDE, under the moderation of Researcher Mesut SAMASTI. Although the closing workshop was the last work item of the project, the findings of the project were systematically evaluated and the project was finalized.
In the opening speeches, the potential of the region, future goals and possible improvements for the establishment of an alternative industrial center for Turkey on the Konya-Karaman and Mersin axis were discussed. In the project presentation, the findings of the research and recommendations for the region were briefly presented. Within the scope of the presentation, the current economic situation of the world, Turkey and the KOP region, the necessity of focusing on value-added production and the product items that need to be focused on are given. Then, the use of the existing trade corridor and the analysis of what the trade corridor will be in the new situation as a result of strategies for possible products to be focused on were discussed. Conceptual discussions and quantitative analyses on the establishment of Special Economic Zones in the region, one of the strategies to increase the use of the trade corridor, are given. Feasibility analyses for the current transportation infrastructure and the future situation are evaluated and the rates of return on investments are given. Finally, all findings are combined and action plan recommendations for the KOP Region are discussed.
Within the scope of the workshop, the project findings obtained by all participants were evaluated and feasible solutions for the new industrial areas were discussed.
