Contractor Urban Renewal Call

Erdal Eren, President of the Turkish Contractors Association (TMB), stated that the need for urban transformation in Turkey must be done in a disaster-oriented manner and without wasting time due to earthquakes and rapid urbanization.

Eren said that this year, “November 8 World Urbanism Day” will be celebrated globally with a very challenging prospect. Noting that the steps that need to be taken for “sustainable cities” have become more urgent with the global climate crisis as urbanization continues in the world, Eren said:

“In fact, cities and metropolises are responsible for 40 percent of global carbon emissions with the processes of construction and operation of the buildings they own. On the other hand, it is observed that the Russian-Ukrainian War created uncertainties in green transformation initiatives with new dynamics in the field of energy. As the coordinating organization of the Turkish construction industry, we emphasize that the need for urban transformation must be done in a disaster-oriented way and without wasting time, due to earthquakes and rapid urbanization in our country.”

Stating that construction safety is also the biggest responsibility for future generations, Eren said that the regulation on the classification of construction contractors by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change should be implemented and developed effectively. and the mechanisms of the control system in the country should be fortified.

THE NEED FOR NEW FUNDING WILL COME TO THE AGENCY

Emphasizing that liveable cities should aim for environmental, health, education, transportation, sports and administrative infrastructures that take into account the needs of the future in the realm of urban transformation, Eren said:

“Vertical building preferences must be evaluated in consideration of historical and environmental texture, and rezoning requests must be free from personal assessments that harm the public conscience. For the transformation into a risk structure of approximately 6.5 million, financing is in the foreground, and in the last period various supports, albeit limited, have been advanced. In the coming period, the need for new financing instruments will come to the fore more in the context of the need to accelerate urban transformation”.

GREEN TRANSFORMATION HIGHLIGHT

The president of TMB, Eren, pointed out that the obligations of “green transformation” for the country are also on the agenda of this process and said that the world’s attention is now on the 27th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP27). ), which began in Egypt.

Recalling that Turkey announced its goal of net zero carbon emissions by 2053 within the scope of the Paris Climate Agreement and the European Green Deal process, Eren said:

“As a new process of change begins for our private sector, structural changes must be made that encompass the processes of design, selection of materials, construction, use and demolition of buildings with a holistic approach at the national level to reduce carbon emissions. of the built environment.

The use of green and energy efficient building technologies and innovative and creative projects for this purpose should be supported as a priority. The sector also stands out in terms of creating sustainable smart transport infrastructure.

However, companies are concerned about the carbon tax burden on the transformation of construction activities. In this context, it is valuable that our Ministry of Treasury and Finance has initiated regulatory studies on green financing instruments, and the process must be accelerated”. (AA)