Investment Climate

AN INVESTMENT JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF TÜRKİYE: KONYA

Konya, covering ​​41,000 km2 in the center of Anatolia, is located at the foots of the Taurus Mountains, a gateway connecting Central Anatolia to the Mediterranean. Konya, the province with the highest number of neighbor provinces, is surrounded by Ankara, Eskişehir, Karaman, Antalya, Isparta, Afyon, Mersin, Aksaray and Niğde and is neighbor to more than 10 million people.

One of the investment advantages of the province is its geographical location. Konya is growing rapidly and shares its earnings with investors while growing through its rich and deep-rooted history, safe location, agricultural industry, young population, urban life and culture, transportation network and advantageous position in the incentive system. Geologically, Konya is among the provinces with the lowest earthquake risk.

The province with 2.3 million population, is the home of 2.7% population of Türkiye. The "young people" between the ages of 15-24 constitutes 16.4% of its population. It is a province in good standing in terms of education level and qualified workforce, with more than 130,000 students studying at 5 universities. Konya is at the 4th place in Türkiye regarding the number of teaching staff and the number of formal university students.

In Konya, there are 378 public and private secondary schools, which is also called "high school". 164 of these schools provide vocational education. Imam Hatip High Schools are not included in this number. Within this regard, 33% of high schools in Konya are vocational high schools. Considering the number of students, the ratio of high school students receiving vocational education to total high school students is 35%.

It is also possible to reach Ankara, Eskişehir, Kocaeli and Istanbul from Konya by high-speed train connections. It takes about 2 hours to reach Ankara and Eskişehir by high-speed train, while 4 hours and 20 minutes to reach Istanbul. Konya provides flights to Istanbul through its airport, from which there is the opportunity to access many points in the world. Furthermore, there are direct flights to important cities of Europe at certain periods. It is possible to reach 10 million people by a 3-hour highway from the province, which ranks first in the length of divided roads and state highways. It is approximately 350 km from Mersin Port, one of the largest ports in Türkiye.

Konya industry has made great progress in various sectors after the 1980s. Among these, machinery manufacturing, automotive spare parts industry, metal casting, food industry, on-vehicle equipment production, plastic-packaging, manufacturing on-board crane equipment, manufacturing agricultural machinery, weapon industry and equipment, and milling machine production stand out as competitive sectors. Some sectors which have developed in the recent past are renewable energy, software, defense industry and pharmaceutical sectors.

Considering the shares of Konya's Gross Domestic Product for 2021, the industry sector has a share of 30.7%, the agricultural sector has a share of 16.2% and the service sector has a share of 42.5%.

Konya is the leading manufacturer of the Turkish market in the metalworking machinery sector, the on-board equipment sector, the agricultural machinery and equipment sector, and hunting rifle production in our country. The province is at the second place in exporting of agricultural machinery and equipment in our country. It ranks the 4th in defense industry exports.

There are totally 25 companies in ISO 1,000. There are also many large companies in this list with production and investment in Konya, although they are registered to another provincial chambers. 4 clustering activities are carried out in areas such as automotive sub-industry, casting, shoemaking, agricultural machinery and defense industry.

In Türkiye, Konya takes the 5th place in the number of industrial enterprises, 2nd in the number of automotive sub-industry and basic metal manufacturers, 3rd in the number of machinery-equipment manufacturers, 3rd in the number of metal products manufacturers, and 4th in the number of food manufacturers.

Konya is the 1st in the total industrial estate area and in the total industrial area, and 6th in the total OIZ area in Türkiye. Konya is the province with 106 and it has the 1^st place in the number industrial estate areas.

Focusing on developing the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem with Konya Teknokent and InnoPark Konya Technology Development Zones, Konya with 21 R&D Centers and 1 Design Center, has more than 50,000 workplaces, more than 500 foreign capital companies, 12 Organized Industrial Zones and 106 industrial sites, is an important agriculture, industry and trade center of our country. In addition to these, activities for establishing Kadınhanı OIZ, Agricultural Machinery Specialized OIZ (Organized Industrial Zone) and Ereğli Food Specialized OIZ have also been continuing. There are also 2 industrial zones (Karapınar Energy Specialized Industrial Zone and Konya Technology Industrial Zone). Also, Konya has one private industrial zone. With all these characteristics, Konya is increasing its share in high technology-oriented production and is becoming more and more attractive for investors every day.

Konya takes the 7th place in the number of patents registered, 6th in the number of trademarks registered, 5th in utility models and 7th in designs. Furthermore, there are 72 products with Geographical Indication in Konya and it is the 2^nd in Türkiye.

One of the largest international fairs of Türkiye is held every year in Konya, with the 4th largest fair center of Türkiye.

By completing its ongoing projects, our province, which has increased its exports 38 times in the last 23 years, will become the center of investment, as in many areas. Exporting 3,3 billion dollars to more than 180 countries with more than 3,400 exporting companies, Konya has a foreign trade surplus (1,7 billion dollars). The city provides foreign trade surplus to 24 European Union countries, including the USA, the United Kingdom and Canada, as well as countries such as Germany, Italy, France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands. Manufacturing industry constitutes 95.6% of Konya's exports.

The province is the most suitable region of Türkiye in terms of solar radiation (solar radiation) values ​​and sunshine hours. It is exposed to the best radiation (solar radiation) and sunlight in Türkiye. The Region, geographically covered with wide plains with suitable slopes, is in a suitable location for investments related to solar energy. Furthermore, one of the richest lignite coal mine reserves (approximately 1.8 billion tons) is located in the Konya-Karaman Region. With the rapidly increasing energy demand, the Region also has a great potential in terms of hydroelectric, solar, wind and biomass energy.

Konya, the granary of Türkiye, has a total agricultural area, is the leader of Türkiye in terms of total grain production, as well as milk, flour, sugar, wheat, barley, sugar beet, sunflower seed, tulip, corn, carrot, sour cherry, vetch, canary grass, pea, sainfoin seed, lupine production. The city takes the second place in producing clover, corn (silage), seeded grape, red cabbage, poppy seed, cumin, horse radish, pepino, melon, green lentil, mint in Türkiye. It takes the 3rd place in the producing patato, sunflower, canola, pumpkin (appetiser), fennel, clover (seed), safflover, apple (grannysmith) lavender.

In our country, Konya takes the 1st place in the livestock value, animal product value and the number of bovine and cattle (culture); the 2nd place in total number of the number of total ovine and indigenous sheep and the 3rd place in the number of laying hens.

Furthermore, the city which is an important tourism center and hosts more than 2 million people every year, is also very suitable for investments in faith, culture and nature tourism. It is on the transit route of important tourism centers such as Cappadocia and Antalya. Mevlana Museum, located in the province which have 7 5-star hotels, is the second most visited museum in Türkiye.

The province, which has 45 hospitals with 13 private ones, there are more than 4,300 doctors and a bed capacity of more than 7,500. The City Hospital project with 1,250 bed capacity is completed.

In the 2017 SEGE study, Konya took place in the 2nd stage with 0.668 score. The city is in the 14th place in the interprovincial ranking.

The incentive system in Türkiye is prepared according to the socio-economic development level of the provinces. Türkiye is divided into six regions based on the level of development of cities in these regions. Konya is located in the 2nd region, where investors can receive customs duty exemption, VAT exemption, tax reduction, social security premium contribution, land allocation and similar advantages. As of the end of 2022, Konya with 5524 incentive certificates is the 5th province with the highest number of incentive certificates. 21 districts have been included among the districts to benefit from sub-region incentives.

For more information about Konya's economy and investment environment, you can visit www.investinkonya.gov.tr