By Merve Aydogan
ANKARA (AA) - Türkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans Tuesday to open three additional boron processing plants in central Eskisehir province.
"This year, we will add three new boron processing plants to Eskisehir which account for an investment value of 501 million liras ($25.8 million)," Erdogan said at a mass opening ceremony in Eskisehir.
He said the "pilot facility" opened in Eskisehir will begin processing 1,200 tons of ore per year in the first stage establishing another "facility that will increase the annual production to 570,000 tons immediately."
Erdogan said the "design, manufacture and assembly of the locomotive and subsystems of the first domestic electric locomotive, E5000, will be completed and then, testing and certification will be launched."
"Here, we will manufacture 500 locomotives that Türkiye will need in the next 10 years," he added.