Istanbul 2020’s capacity to deliver all infrastructure required for the Olympic and Paralympic Games on time and on budget has been reinforced by Turkey’s Economy Minister, Zafer Çağlayan’s, recent announcement that the country’s construction industry has secured 154 international projects worth $14 billion in the first seven months of 2013.
The news reiterates Istanbul 2020’s total confidence in Turkey’s capacity to deliver its ambitious Games Plan if awarded the honour of hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Istanbul 2020 is ideally positioned to benefit from the growing global expertise of Turkey’s construction industry which is now active in 101 countries worldwide and has undertaken 40 projects in 27 countries worth $2.4 billion in July 2013 alone. Turkey was also the most highly represented country, apart from China, in Engineering News Record magazine’s top 225 international contractors across the world for 2012.
Turkey’s world-leading construction industry and Istanbul 2020’s excellent delivery strategies were singled out for praise from the IOC Evaluation Commission earlier this year. The IOC Evaluation Commission stated that it was: "…confident that given the government's full support and the proven track-record of TOKI [State agency for construction] to date, construction works could be funded and completed on time, in line with construction best-practices and standards and would meet Games requirements." Work has already begun to ensure these requirements are met, with the reconstruction of the İnönü Stadium –Istanbul 2020’s proposed rugby sevens venue—well underway and set for completion in 2014.
Commenting on Turkey’s position amongst the world’s leaders in the construction industry, Istanbul 2020 Bid Chairman, Hasan Arat, said:
"The recent news that Turkey has one of the world’s leading construction industries confirms what we have been saying all along: if Istanbul wins the right to host the Games in 2020 we will deliver on time and on budget.
"Istanbul 2020 is in a unique position for a Bid Committee, because all of our delivery structures are already in place. We have a dedicated Olympic Law already embedded in our national legislation that guarantees financial support from the government and immediate cash flow. And in TOKI, we already have a powerful and existing delivery agency with a proven track-record of delivering high-quality infrastructure on time and on budget.
"If Istanbul is awarded the honour of being named the 2020 host city, we are ready to start work immediately – no delays, no bureaucracy, no risk. Istanbul 2020 will guarantee Games delivery."
The construction of all new venues and facilities has been carefully aligned with Turkey’s 2023 Master Plan and National Sports Plan to ensure on-time delivery and maximum legacy yield. Of the 37 sports venues in Istanbul 2020’s concept, only nine permanent new venues are being constructed specifically for the Games, with 11 planned and six temporary venues adding to the 11 world-class venues already in place. The overwhelming majority of spending, identified in the non-OCOG infrastructure budget, is already underway or planned as part of Istanbul’s ongoing development. For instance, the current redevelopment of Istanbul’s İnönü Stadium, into a world-class, 40,000 seat stadium will be completed irrespective of bid outcome. In fact, just 7%, or $1.1 billion, of the non-OCOG infrastructure budget will be spent on capital works specifically for the Games.
The Turkish government estimates that Turkish construction companies have undertaken 7,181 projects across the world worth $253 billion to date. Minister Çağlayan noted the rapid growth of Turkey’s construction industry over the past decade:
"A majority of these [7,181] projects was undertaken after 2002. While our contractors undertook 110 projects for $2.4 billion in 2001, now they reached 40 projects for around $2.3 billion in just one month."
For more information contact: Istanbul 2020 media team:
media@istanbul2020.com.tr
Alternatively, find us online at www.istanbul2020.com.tr
on Twitter: @istanbul2020TR
or on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Istanbul2020
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