Once terror-ridden Şırnak now home to entrepreneurs, investments
YEARS after counterterrorism operations eliminated PKK terrorists from southeastern Turkey’s Şırnak province and its urban areas, in particular, peace has finally prevailed in the city. The flow of investments that had once stopped due to unrest in the region has also resumed.
These investments have begun to significantly contribute to employment in the previously underdeveloped province. The city’s young population and its strategic location between Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia especially attract investors.
During a five-year period, 233 companies in various sectors, especially in textile, furniture, accessories, agriculture and dairy products, invested in the city center along with Cizre, Silopi and İdil districts, where the situation had especially deteriorated during terrorist attacks. The districts that were previously associated with terror are now welcoming development. With those investments, 1,798 people were employed. Meanwhile, some 71 of the investments took place last year, which saw businesses struggling to survive due to the pandemic. Some 426 new jobs were created during a time when many employers were slashing jobs to cope with the challenging period.
The city’s transformation, particularly led by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, followed the counterterrorism operations that began five years ago when the PKK tried to bring its terrorist activities to urban areas from the mountainous regions, digging holes as barricades on city streets. The plans of the terrorists backfired, thanks to both determinant security operations and the locals’ refusal to cooperate with the terrorists. Along with the larger-scale infrastructure projects, the transformation enabled ruined schools and mosques to be rebuilt and the families of the victims of the PKK terrorists to receive new homes.
The elimination of the threat in the terror-ridden city and its revival were welcomed by the locals, along with the increasing investment and local authorities’ weighing in on the tourism potential. Gov. Ali Hamza Pehlivan told Anadolu Agency (AA) yesterday that there had been great difficulties in terms of investment due to the atrocious attacks of the terrorist organization that engulfed the region for nearly 40 years.
However, he said, once peace was established, “the climate of tranquillity has led businesspeople to open businesses in our city. We also put forward models to encourage our investors and entrepreneurs.”
Pehlivan said one investor recently showed interest in establishing a textile factory and has applied for it. He added that an area has been allocated for the investment, which will employ 300 people in the beginning and the number is expected to reach 1,000 in the near future.