Chinese-Turkish Trona Joint Venture Project Starts Operations in Turkey
Liao Shumin
DATE:  Jan 17 2018
/ SOURCE:  Yicai
Chinese-Turkish Trona Joint Venture Project Starts Operations in Turkey Chinese-Turkish Trona Joint Venture Project Starts Operations in Turkey

(Yicai Global) Jan. 17 -- The 2.5-million-ton trona processing and auxiliary power plant project jointly set up by China and Turkey has formally started operations near Turkish capital city of Ankara. The USD1.35 billion project is of great significance for deepening cooperation between China and Turkey in the field of engineering, said the state Xinhua News Agency.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, China's Ambassador to Turkey Yu Hongyang, and Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Berat Albayrak attended the opening ceremony in the town of KahramanKazan, formerly Kazan, about 50 km northwest of Ankara, on Jan. 15.

The operation of the project needs financial and technical support from China, said Turgay Ciner, founder and CEO of Ciner Group in Turkey. It will also contribute to the development of Ciner Group, one of Turkey's biggest conglomerates, in the trona industry, he added.

China Tianchen Engineering Corporation signed a cooperation contract with Ciner Group in early 2013. Most of the large sets of equipment used in the project were made in China. The USD1.35 billion project was financed by Chinese banks.

This investment would make the Ciner Group the top manufacturer of soda ash in the world, said Ciner at the project signing ceremony at the time, adding that it would also bring net foreign currency inflows to Turkey by increasing its exports. The plant also created 2,200 jobs for the local economy.

China-Turkey economy and trade relations

China is Turkey's second global trade partner after Germany. The trade volume between the two countries reached USD27.7 billion in 2016, according to Turkey's state statistics agency. China is also Turkey's number one import partner.

Turkey supports all efforts to implement China's Belt and Road Project, says Turkey's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on its website. "Located at a key position in this initiative, Turkey aims to realize 'Trans Hazar- Middle Corridor' Project, complementing the North Line from China to Europe and opening a new connecting corridor between China and Europe," it said.  The two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate on their respective projects in July 2016 before the G20 Hangzhou Summit.

2018 will also be celebrated as the "Turkish Tourism Year in China." Turkey held an event in Shanghai early January to unveil the tourism year in China. "Turkey considers tourism as a potential area for further developing economic and cultural relations with China. Chinese tourists, visiting Turkey in a steadily rising number since 2002, are strengthening ties between Turkish and Chinese people," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry.

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Keywords:   China,TURKEY,Trona,Ciner,Tianchen Engineering,Cooperation