Industrial zones ‘organize’ for uninterrupted production
to heal the wounds of the earthquake that EFFORTS caused great destruction taking tens of thousands of lives continue. Turkey is mobilizing to meet the food and shelter needs of the region with the help of the public and civil society. The Turkish business world, on the other hand, tries to repair the occupational and economic damage caused by the earthquake in the region as well as its humanitarian aid support. Organized Industrial Zones Supreme Organization (OSBUK), representing the 389 organized industrial zones (OIZs) in Turkey, started a support program called ‘SeferBIR,’ meaning mobilization for a single purpose, in this context. The organization matched 23 organized industrial zones in the five most affected cities with OIZs in other cities.
There are 57 OIZs in 10 provinces where the earthquake took place. More than 4,500 businesses in these zones employ nearly 540,000 people. However, the heaviest damage is in five cities: Adiyaman, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, and Malatya. OSBUK matched 23 OIZs in these five cities with OIZs in other cities within its mobilization campaign. The first matched OIZs have the feature of being closer to the earthquake-affected OIZs in the region. The second ring, on the other hand, has a larger production capacity and is qualified to close the deficit of the earthquake-affected OIZ in terms of production pattern and human resources.
OIZS TO SHARE STAFF AND EQUIPMENT
Speaking to daily EKONOMI, OSBUK President Memis Kutukcu said that the 23 OIZs in the five most affected provinces by the earthquake will primarily try to meet their needs in contact with the OIZs they are matched with. “Our OSBUK Board Members, whom we have appointed in charge of these provinces, will also follow the process. Thus, we aim to increase the effectiveness and coordination of aid. In addition, all kinds of help and support regardless of this matching campaign will be provided by our OIZs and our participants,” he added.
The matched OIZs will not only be brothers in aid materials, containers, and basic needs. The earthquake victim OIZ will also receive support from the OIZs, of which they are brothers, about the disruptions in production.
OIZs will respond to each other’s needs in terms of machinery and equipment, and engineers and technical staff of companies within the OIZ will work in the earthquake-affected OIZ if needed. Each board member of OSBUK will be responsible for a city where earthquake-affected OIZs are located. Kutukcu underlined that they have been closely following the developments in the region since the first moment of the earthquake and said, “To date, we have reached 10 provinces with our OIZs and delivered 932 trucks filled with food, water, fundamental necessities, generators, heaters, tubes, hygienic materials, medicines, blankets.”
MEAL FOR 800,000 EARTHQUAKE VICTIMS A DAY
Kutukcu stated that more than a thousand human resources were sent to the region by OIZs for search and rescue activities and other technical studies within the scope of the works carried out in coordination with the Ministry of Industry and Technology. Many fire trucks, containers, and field kitchens are currently on duty in the earthquake zone, he added. “In addition to all these, many of our OIZs in and around the earthquake zone have allocated their indoor and outdoor areas as both accommodation and logistics areas. Our OIZs in the earthquake zone also provide hot meals to 800,000 people daily. In addition, our OIZs also carry out container living space projects,” he noted.