ISTANBUL
Turkish contractors have undertaken a total of $11.8 billion worth of projects abroad in the first nine months of 2024.
Saudi Arabia was the largest market for Turkish construction companies in the January-September period with $2.3 billion worth of project assumed, followed by Algeria at $1.7 billion, while Gabon ranked third at $1.2 billion, according to a report by the Turkish Contractors’ Association (TMB).
Turkish contractors undertook 161 projects in foreign countries in the first nine months of 2024. The average value of those projects was $73.4 million.
The association noted that 43 Turkish companies entered the prestigious ENR Top 250 International Contractors list this year.
In terms of the number of contractors making the list, Türkiye ranked second in the world, according to the association.
Six Turkish companies -Limak, Renaissance, Enka, Yapı Merkezi, Ant Yapı and Esta İnşaat- were among the top 100 contractors. Limak climbed two spots to rank 48th.
From 1972 to September 2024, Turkish contractors undertook 12,297 projects in foreign countries worth $515.8 billion.
In this period, Russia’s share was 19.8 percent or $102.3 billion, followed by Turkmenistan at $53.5 billion and Iraq at $35 billion.
In Libya and Saudi Arabia, Turkish contractors were awarded $31 billion and $29 billion worth of projects, respectively.
Domestic construction market
The TMB report also said the effects of the disinflation process in Türkiye became more pronounced in the construction sector and the impact of tightening policies on financing was aggravated.
“Especially, caps introduced on credit growth, high financing costs and reduced liquidity stand out as the most important factors that will limit the growth of the construction sector in the period ahead,” the report explained.
The annual growth of the Turkish construction industry slowed from 11.1 percent in the first quarter of 2024 to 6.5 percent in the second quarter when the Turkish economy expanded by 2.5 percent.
In the draft budget 2025, the government aims to increase the share of the contracting and technical consultancy services sector in the world market to 4.5 percent next year.
The business volume the contracting services sector generates abroad, which is expected to be $26 billion at the end of the year, is foreseen at $30 billion next year, according to the draft budget.
Meanwhile, the government plans to invest 662.6 billion Turkish Liras ($19 billion) under several transport programs next year, which will benefit the construction companies.
