Turkish Companies Eye Local Transport Industry

Some Turkish-based companies have expressed interest in investing in the country�s transport sector. Two of the companies, Erenport and Kolin Constructions, are currently seeking an opportunity to help expand and upgrade facilities at the Tamale Airport and the Tema Port in line with government�s plans for the two institutions. While Erenport, a member of the Erenport Group and Companies based in Turkey is currently lobbying for the Tamale Airport project, Kolin Constructions, a major construction company also based in Turkey, has already been pre-qualified as a possible choice to expand and upgrade facilities at the Tema Port. The proposed expansion of the Tamale Airport is to bring it to the status of an international airport while that of the Tema Port is to decongest it for volume of sea-freight to rise. The intentions of the two construction companies on the sea and airport projects came to light when the Chief Executive Officer of the GEPA, Mr Gideon Quarcoo, held bilateral discussions with their officials as well as other businesses interested in investing in the economy. �We can tell you that we are interested in designing and building the Tamale Airport to the levels of an international airport,� the founder and Board Chairman of the Eren Group and Companies, Dr Gultekin Eren, said in the interaction. The Eren Group and Companies specialises in engineering, procurement and construction management. �We are confident of our ability to raise the necessary funds. The major thing now is a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government that says if we are able to raise this amount of funds, and then we should be the one to design and build the airport,� Dr Eren said. Mr Quarcoo�s interactions with the management of Ereport, Kolin Constructions and other Turkish business people formed part of activities marking Ghana's participation in the Izmir International Fair, which ended on September 2, 2013. The Erenport founder said the comany would be raising its funds from the Turkish Exim Bank and hinted of his outfit�s resolve to request for a sovereign guarantee from the Government of Ghana (GoG) for the said funds should the need arise. While lauding the intentions of the companies to invest in the country, the CEO of the GEPA said it was not within his domain to say whether or not GoG will offer Erenport a sovereign guarantee on funds to be raised. �Sovereign guarantees are not given lightly. They are issued after the necessary cost-benefit analyses are done and that is not done at our levels,� he said, and thus called on the management of Ereport to come to the country for further discussions on their interest.