Turkey's overseas construction projects worth 26.1bn USD

The total value of projects the Turkish construction industry secured abroad in 2012 was 26.1 billion U.S. dollars, increasing 31 percent compared to that of 2011, Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan said in a statement on Tuesday. Noting that contractors secured 433 projects in about 100 countries last year, Caglayan said, "Our construction industry has achieved historic success; this (26.1 billion dollars) is a record figure." In the list of countries where contractors won projects, Turkmenistan and Iraq stood out as the leaders, said Caglayan, adding that in terms of the share of projects, Turkmenistan tops the list with 18.8 percent, while Iraq, which comes second, is 16. 8 percent. Construction companies got projects for the first time in 2012 in Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Somalia and Peru, said Caglayan.