Turkey remains world second biggest contractor

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkey, which holds 4.6% of the global contractor market, continues to be the world's second-biggest contractor, according to a report by a U.S.-based magazine.

Engineering News Record (ENR) announced that 44 Turkish firms were among the top 250 contractor companies in the world, according to a written statement issued by the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA) on Thursday.

Turkish contractors also raised their share in the Middle East market from 9.7% to 10.4% in 2018, while its share in the Asian market narrowed, down from 4% to 2.1%.

The countries' shares in the African and European markets remained stable at 5.6% and 7%, respectively.

While China was the biggest contractor country, the U.S. ranked third in the same year.

Recession continues in the construction sector, affected most by global uncertainties, according to the report.

The construction market rose slightly by 1% to $477.3 billion year-on-year in 2018 globally, while it expanded from roughly $500 billion to $544 billion between 2012 to 2014.

The sector showed a weak performance in 2018 as companies narrowed their targets, ENR said in its report "Top 250 International Contractors: Global Market Is Risky Business".

TCA chief Mithat Yenigun said Turkish contractors undertook 130 projects worth $5.6 billion in the first seven months of 2019.

"As of the end of this year, we aim to reach the $20 billion level which we achieved in 2018," he underlined.

Seven Turkish contractors were among the top 100 companies on the list -- Ronesans 33rd, Limak 67th, Tekfen 69th, TAV 71st, Yapi Merkezi 77th, Ant Yapi 87th and Enka 92nd.