Speaking at the opening of the meeting held in the OSTİM OSB Conference Hall, ARUS Coordinator Dr. İlhami Pektaş provided information about the cluster. Pektaş explained that until 2012, 2,866 vehicles were purchased from foreign brands without any domestic contribution, and noted that with the establishment of ARUS, the domestic contribution rate in rail systems has reached 51 percent. Pektaş stated, “Our aim is not only to increase domestic contribution in rail systems but also to create national brands. We will say no to imports and produce our own products.”
'50 sister cities' message
OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın stated that they are open to cooperation as a region. He explained that in the rail systems sector, they took a step forward by starting the localization efforts for the Ankara Metro with the late Prof. Dr. Sedat Çelikdoğan, and that as a result of their work, a 51% domestic contribution requirement was added to the Ankara Metro tender, marking a milestone in the sector.
Aydın emphasized the following points: “It’s not enough, but I think we’ve made significant progress. We can build light rail and high-speed rail systems in our country. To achieve this, the public sector, universities, and industry must create synergy together. There’s nothing our companies can’t do. We believe in this. We can produce all the vehicles that EGO (Ankara Public Transportation Company) needs. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality has 50 sister cities. Whatever is needed for one city, we can bring these systems to 50 sister cities. We can handle all infrastructure, transportation, rail systems, and communication. We can sell buses to 50 cities. The municipality should take on a mission here; it should be a project-producing municipality, not just a buyer.”
80% local content can be achieved
ASELSAN Deputy General Manager Dr. İbrahim Bekar explained the achievements regarding rail vehicles and signaling systems. Emphasizing that ASELSAN's achievements are also OSTİM's achievements, Bekar noted that they have maximized the localization rates in train control and management systems and traction systems.
Bekar stated that ASELSAN is working on innovations ranging from electronic circuit design to traction motors, electric buses, metros, and trams, and emphasized that signaling systems are a critical component. He noted that in signaling, the company is always dependent on the first one to implement it for sustainability reasons, and explained that they are carrying out the National Signaling Development Project; aiming to extend the project to all metro lines in Turkey, Bekar said, "I believe that achieving up to 80% localization in the rail systems sector is possible."
ASELSAN's project manager, Günay Şimşek, also made statements about the Ankara Metro modernization project. He stated that they renewed the traction systems, lightened the traction motors, and achieved a 20% efficiency increase in energy consumption. He also mentioned that they upgraded the train control system. Şimşek pointed out that a large portion of the components used in the modernization work were sourced from domestic manufacturers.
EGO's doors are open to industrialists
Sinan Yılmaz, Head of EGO Rail Systems Department, stated that EGO is the authority in public transportation in Ankara. He mentioned that they carry out all maintenance and repairs in-house and that they possess the most environmentally friendly bus fleet in Europe.
Providing information about the rail and cable car systems, Yılmaz emphasized that the cable car is used by 9 million people annually. Yılmaz said, “The Ankara Metro tender was a revolution with 51 percent. EGO opened its doors wide to all industrialists. The colleagues here are the decision-makers who manage the purchasing processes.”
100 billion TL investment since 2003
TCDD General Manager and ARUS Board Chairman İsa Apaydın recalled that when they started working in the sector, everything from needles to thread was imported. Explaining that they visited industrialists one by one to change this, Apaydın stated that 60 billion TL had been invested in railways since 2003, and that this figure reached 100 billion TL with urban rail systems.
Apaydın concluded his remarks by saying, “We will support our industrialists as much as we can. Together, we must create our national brands. We have no other choice. We have achieved 90% localization in railway construction. We have reached the infrastructure to create national brands. We will implement the Industrial Cooperation Program in both light rail systems and high-speed trains.”
Following the speeches, bilateral business meetings were held. Within the framework of these meetings, 60 companies serving the sector shared their capabilities and projects with ASELSAN and EGO officials in the areas of metro vehicle maintenance and overhaul, signaling and energy, R&D, cable car maintenance and repair, and bus maintenance.
The program also featured an electric bus manufactured in Ankara by ARUS member Bozankaya A.Ş. and used by Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality.
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