The meeting was attended by Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) President Seyit Ardıç, OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Board Chairman Orhan Aydın, AFAD Search and Rescue Department Head Recep Şalcı, OSTİM Board Vice Chairman Sıtkı Öztuna, OSTİM Technical University Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Ünsal Sığrı, ASO Assembly Vice Chairman Nihat Güçlü, KOSGEB OSTİM Director Hasan Şenel, İŞİM Board Chairman Dr. Ayşe Saraçoğlu, Machine Manufacturing Industry Associations Federation (MAKFED) General Secretary Zühtü Bakır, as well as industrialists and academics.
At the event, AFAD officials explained the products and equipment they needed and listened to the capabilities of the participating companies. KOSGEB OSTİM Director Hasan Şenel also shared information about the institution's localization support programs.
The priority is to provide technical solutions for search and rescue operations.
Dr. Ayşe Saraçoğlu, Chairperson of the Board of Directors of OSTİM, noted that while earthquakes are a deadly disaster, it is primarily the structures not built to withstand earthquakes that kill our people. She stated that their focus is on developing projects that will provide technical solutions with the contributions of OSTİM and OSTİM Technical University. Saraçoğlu said, “The urgent part of our technical initiatives to provide solutions initially focuses on accelerating search and rescue efforts and, through rapid coordination, saving as many lives as possible. This remains our top priority. The second phase aims to meet the technical needs, both in terms of quality and quantity, of a new building stock where we can live alongside the ever-present reality of earthquakes.”
“Steel is the address for earthquake-resistant structures”
OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone (OSB) Board Chairman Orhan Aydın pointed out that OSBs are organized communities like municipalities, stating, "We want to create a ready-made team, a conscious team that can immediately spring into action when we press the button, a team that knows what to do and how to do it. There are 367 OSBs in Turkey, and when you include them in the system, they create a significant potential for response to any earthquake in any region."
Aydın emphasized the following points: “There is a concept called steel structure. Unfortunately, Turkey is not familiar with steel. In Iran and Japan, steel structures are the preferred choice for earthquake-resistant buildings. Everyone you ask says steel is expensive. We had studies done, and it's not expensive. With steel, we can build earthquake-resistant structures that are more economical, permanent, sustainable, and cause less environmental damage. When building containers, we can build permanent steel structures; the cost and timeframe are the same. The cost of building and installing a container is the same as building a steel structure, using the same materials and resources.”
“Collaboration between AFAD and the business world is critically important in product supply”
Ankara Chamber of Industry (ASO) President Seyit Ardıç stated that close cooperation with the Turkish business world is critically important for AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) to effectively fulfill its duties before and after disasters by procuring essential materials and equipment.
Ardıç stated that regular and continuous communication and information exchange between the parties are of great importance in terms of ensuring that the supply reaches a sufficient level in terms of quality and quantity, and added that they know AFAD is working diligently to improve and develop the supply system and that they appreciate these efforts.
Seyit Ardıç explained that collaboration and interaction with manufacturers have become a fundamental requirement to ensure that these efforts yield fruitful results, adding, "Through creative interaction and innovative solutions, AFAD can make its operational activities more effective."
The President of ASO underlined that İŞİM is mainly located in OSTİM, a major center for the construction and industrial machinery sector in the country, and in the capital city, and stated that with its ever-increasing number of members, it offers the potential to meet the sectoral needs of the country.
Seyit Ardıç, explaining that the program they organized in cooperation with ASO and İŞİM Cluster aimed to strengthen the cooperation networks between AFAD and İŞİM Cluster and to contribute to local and rapid procurement processes, concluded his speech with the following words: "I hope that we will quickly reach the days when disaster resilience and sustainability prevail in every field, when our people are more peaceful and safe, and when we are stronger and more self-sufficient as a country."
This collaborative project will also be well-received in the Turkic world.
AFAD Search and Rescue Department Head Recep Şalcı stated that the institution has a certain capacity to meet its needs. Şalcı emphasized, “I hope we can solve this capacity need together. This doesn't only concern Turkey. With the establishment of the Organization of Turkic States, we are currently working with 7 countries to develop and improve all our search and rescue capacities. The work we will do will be effective and in demand not only within Turkey's borders but also in the Turkic states.”
Photos
