Posted by meb at February 28th, 2008

Turkey’s first “Export Technopark” will be established in Istanbul’s Halkalı district via collaborative works of the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly (TİM) and Marmara University.The aim of the technopark, which will be established on a property owned by Marmara University, is to help industrialists to increase their competition power in the global market. At the technopark, the university officials and companies will act together to manufacture technological products that will bring higher added value to exports. The deal concerning the project, which is within the framework of the “Technological Development Regions Law,” will be reached in the upcoming days at a meeting with the participation of ministers.

  A production-based project

Marmara University and TİM will jointly establish a company to manage the technopark. The company is planned to start operating within three months following the signing of a contract. All institutions affiliated to TİM will have a work place at the technopark, according to the draft plan of the project. The companies will be able to have direct contact with university officials to produce projects for more qualified products. The investment amount of the project has not been determined yet. “This project will be the world’s strongest production technopark,” said Marmara University Coordinator Professor Mehmet Akalın. Many technoparks in Turkey are in the informatics industry, said Akalın. “This project addresses production activities directly. Research and Development (R&D) institutions are neglected in Turkey’s technoparks. We have founded the project on R&D studies.”

Textile R&D center

The technopark will feature a “Textile R&D Center” of 7,000 square meters. The Istanbul Ready Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Union (İHKİB) and Marmara University Textile Department are working jointly to gather the investment needed for the center. European Union (EU) funds will be used to finance the project, which is expected to cost 15 to 16 million euros. Featuring the world’s most developed infrastructure, the center will start operating by the end of the year, said İHKİB Chairman Süleyman Orakçıoğlu. The center has been designed in four years jointly with the EU. “Operating like a laboratory, the plant will direct the companies strategically. Once the plant starts operating, important steps will be taken in terms of technical issues as well as smart textile and fiber, said Orakçıoğlu. “We will increase our chances for exports by producing high technology products.” In Turkey, there are 23 technoparks founded with the aim of fostering R&D. However, nine of them are unable to operate due to financial problems. The Industry and Trade Ministry reduced the budget for technoparks last year. Technoparks, which are mostly founded under the umbrella of universities, cannot operate efficiently due to lack of ample budget allocated by the universities. Most of technoparks operate in the informatics sector, failing to contribute directly to the real economy.

Technoparks in figures: Companies 570
Personnel 8,197
Foreign companies   25
Projects 2,472
Patents 94
Foreign investment $450mln
Exports $110 mln

*The figures are valid for 14 technology development zones operating as of January 2007.

Source:Turkish Daily News