Turkey declares oil refinery as special industrial zone

By Mehtap Yilmaz

ANKARA (AA) - A presidential decree has declared a newly-opened oil refinery in western Izmir province as the first special industrial zone in Turkey, the Industry and Technology Ministry said Saturday.

Turkey's biggest oil refinery, STAR, officially opened on Friday with the attendance of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Azerbaijani counterpart Ilham Aliyev as well as other top officials from both countries.

STAR is the biggest investment in the country of the Azerbaijani oil company Socar Turkey.

The ministry said in a statement that Socar Turkey's investment, which is expected to reach $2 billion, will be realized without any bureaucratic hurdles.