As the March 31 local elections approach, candidates are continuing their campaigns at full speed. AK Party Deputy Chairman and Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayoral Candidate Mehmet Özhaseki and Altındağ Mayor and Yenimahalle Mayoral Candidate Veysel Tiryaki met with industrialists from OSTİM.
The program, held at the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Conference Hall, was attended by former Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly Cemil Çiçek, former AK Party Member of Parliament Necati Çetinkaya, Deputy Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Yaşar Yıldırım, and numerous OSTİM members.
Orhan Aydın, Chairman of the OSTİM Organized Industrial Zone Board of Directors, who hosted the program, conveyed the expectations from municipalities from an industrial perspective and spoke about the work that has been done and not done so far.
Aydın, emphasizing the leading role OSTİM played in Ankara's transformation from a city of civil servants to an industrial city, said, "Activities started here in the 1980s, and OSTİM is roughly the starting point of what we call industrial production. Later, Organized Industrial Zones (OSBs) were formed in Ankara. OSTİM is the patron of these; 80% of the firms in the other OSBs in Ankara have their starting point and address here. Their addresses are still here today. Of course, we have continuous relations with the municipalities. OSBs have their own regulations according to the laws, but they cannot be considered separately from our municipalities. There are certainly many things we can do together, side by side."
Stating that OSTİM is located within the city and is not an independent Organized Industrial Zone, and therefore its roads and infrastructure are used by the entire city, Mayor Aydın said, “We constantly request support and assistance from our municipality regarding the maintenance and repair of these. Thankfully, although there are occasional disruptions, the continuous support and contribution of our Metropolitan Municipality has been particularly significant recently. We naturally want and expect this to continue, and we express our gratitude for the work done.”
The preference for domestically produced components in rail systems is a significant contribution to the industry.
Orhan Aydın, noting that this was a joint effort between AK Party Ankara Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate Mehmet Özhaseki and OSTİM, expressed his appreciation for Özhaseki for the use of domestically produced metro systems in Kayseri.
Aydın stated: “As a mayor who had the metro vehicles manufactured domestically in Kayseri, we always speak of him with appreciation, even in his absence, in all the environments we are in. Metro vehicles produced by a company from Ankara are currently in service in Kayseri. This is not an easy feat; it's not simply a matter of buying a metro vehicle and having it operate in Kayseri. The metro vehicles produced in Turkey represent a very important contribution to the localization and nationalization of the rail systems industry.”
As the Anatolian Rail Transportation Systems Cluster (ARUS), we follow all policies in Turkey. We want and expect your success story in Kayseri to be transferred to Ankara. We wholeheartedly desire that the Ankara Metro, specifically the Esenboğa-Ankara line, be built by a local, national, and Ankara-based company. Our companies are capable of doing this. Because this Ankara-based company is also the one that built and operates the Bangkok Metro in Thailand. We are proud and honored by that. Our Bozankaya company in Ankara and our Durmazlar company in Bursa are currently producing and operating domestic and national metro vehicles in many of our cities: Bursa, Samsun, Kocaeli, Kayseri. A great tram-bus project has also been completed and is currently operating in Malatya. We want to bring this to the agenda as a transportation solution for Ankara as well.
Municipal procurement policies are critical for industrialization.
The procurement policies of our metropolitan municipalities and municipalities are of critical importance in terms of industrialization. There are two important levers behind the development of developed countries: one is the defense industry, and the other is public procurement. These are two critical principles applied worldwide regarding the development of technology. In the procurements and projects undertaken by Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, the fact that local and national firms, and especially the defense industry network, are well-developed in Ankara is a great advantage.
Ankara's defense industry sector and companies can fly unmanned aerial vehicles in the sky, even in Northern Iraq. We need to ask ourselves what an industry that can do this cannot do. With our entire team, our clusters, and I'm talking about equipment that our municipality doesn't even have, if there's any equipment you can imagine, we don't accept that it 'cannot be done'.
They ask, "Can you build vehicles to clear mines?" We say, "Yes, we can." We tell the Metropolitan Municipality and Yenimahalle Municipality: "There's nothing that can't be done here. Share your needs with us, and work together with us."
Sister cities are an opportunity
Aydın, reminding that BELTEK, which organizes vocational training courses under the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality, is a very valuable institution, requested that BELTEK be further developed in terms of employment.
Continuing his speech, Orhan Aydın stated, “The possibility of establishing an industrial museum is on our agenda. We have expectations in this direction,” and underlined the following points: “Ankara Metropolitan Municipality has 44 sister cities. Cities and companies need to be at the center of this competition. I feel that these relationships are very mediocre; there is something critical here. Cities need to be right in the middle of this competition in relation to the development of the country. Sister cities are an important point of contact. What can we do? As Ankara, we should create a platform. Ankara is Turkey's number one city in terms of information technology. There is a valley formed here; Hacettepe, Bilkent, METU. We need to fill this with content.”
Ankara Metropolitan Municipality has some excellent initiatives. Let's package them together. We're doing a great job with infrastructure, superstructure, and environmental planning. But how can we transfer this to other cities and generate economic value from it? Social, educational, transportation, and development projects.
We have organized industrial zones, companies, and clusters in Ankara. We have seven clusters. Ankara is the center of rail systems. Ankara actually has a very valuable infrastructure. Why shouldn't we meet the needs of other countries with this ecosystem, why shouldn't we sell to them? Not just selling. We might also have things to buy from them. It could be a point of connection for a continuous and sustainable economic relationship with them.”
“We stand by our industrialists”
Altındağ Mayor and AK Party Yenimahalle Mayoral Candidate Dr. Veysel Tiryaki provided information about the works and projects he has carried out in Altındağ.
Tiryaki, emphasizing that he has always stood by both large and small businesses in Altındağ, said, "We can do very important things with the business world in Yenimahalle."
Tiryaki pointed out that Yenimahalle is Ankara's most important industrial and production center, and drew attention to the value that OSTİM adds to the region. He stated that they have the experience to transform Yenimahalle into a place that undertakes international projects.
Veysel Tiryaki emphasized that they want to make Yenimahalle a brand not only in Ankara but also in Turkey in the fields of industry, technology, information, and trade, and conveyed the message, "For this, we stand by our valuable industrialists and all tradesmen who contribute to production and our national economy."
“OSTİM is a model place in Turkey”
Yaşar Yıldırım, Deputy Chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party and Member of Parliament for Ankara, stated that he was happy to be in OSTİM and that he frequently visits OSTİM.
Yaşar Yıldırım, expressing his happiness at every meeting with OSTİM Board Chairman Orhan Aydın, continued his remarks as follows: “Whenever I come to OSTİM and meet with Mr. Orhan Aydın, I am overjoyed. The reason is that I see the development in my country. OSTİM is the most exemplary place in Turkey. We come and see and witness how the defense industry and the IT industry have developed. Therefore, I would like to thank OSTİM very much. May God bless you all for all the work you do for this country.”
“Those who produce are very valuable”
AK Party's Ankara Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate, Mehmet Özhaseki, stated that he comes from an industrialist family and is well-versed in the problems facing the industry.
Özhaseki emphasized that production is critically important for the country, saying, "If there is no production in the country and you get used to importing, you cannot say very nice things about the future of the country and you cannot dream big dreams. The country needs to produce everything from A to Z, from needle to thread, and it also needs to keep up with developments."
Pointing to the rapid changes of our time and the necessity of adapting to them, the experienced politician stated, “We live in an era where change is very rapid. Understanding and perceiving this rapid change correctly is primarily the job of governments, and then of big businessmen. If you cannot understand the change correctly, if you cannot design your situation accordingly, your situation will relatively worsen over time and you will move towards the worse. In this sense, I am here before you today as someone who knows that every Organized Industrial Zone, every technopark, and everyone who produces something is very valuable for this country.”
Özhaseki emphasized the importance of domestic and national efforts in rail system investments, giving examples from the Kayseri Metro, and stated: “When I first came up with the idea of implementing a rail system, from the very first project, the construction of underground systems, laying of rails, pylons, and electrification were almost a mystery to us. We were always dependent on foreign countries. We looked to them for guidance on what they said.”
Mehmet Özhaseki explained that during his time as Mayor of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, they achieved a significant price advantage by choosing domestically produced trams manufactured by Bozankaya, a member of ARUS, in the Kayseri Metro tender. Bozankaya delivered 30 tram sets to the Kayseri Metro in 2016.
Özhaseki, emphasizing that local governments are important actors in the economies of cities, continued his remarks as follows: “Local governments can pave the way for the business world if they want to. What falls to municipalities and local governments is to buy the goods of all the people who produce in their city, process them within their own borders, and then even exhibit them at fairs.”
Everyone knows Ankara as a city of civil servants, and that's true. The government is here; of course, there will be civil servants. But Ankara is a huge industrial city. This isn't known or highlighted. It's also a huge commercial city, and there are many areas where it can benefit. It can benefit from health tourism; we need to take the lead in this. It's already benefiting, but it could grow much faster and on a larger scale. Ankara can benefit from religious tourism, thermal tourism, and nature tourism. In an environment where all these are provided, Ankara will grow even more. And in that growing environment, everyone will get a little bigger share of the pie.”
Referring to transportation plans for Ankara, Özhaseki said, “I calculated the project that emerged regarding rail systems. The work we will do on roads and rail systems amounts to 20 billion. 15 billion is related to rail systems. Yes, we can bring this money back to Ankara's industry and circulate it here. We can easily do this. Because when there is such a capable industrial site, it is not right to go outside, find someone, and give them the tender by having them compete equally.”
"In the municipality, you can find anything that will be used, from benches to trash cans to lighting fixtures, even the simplest tasks. Our industry can produce these. We can manage our economy much more easily within this system," he said.
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