Speeches

5/11/2017

Turkey's First Domestic Tunnel Boring Machine Is Introduced

Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication, Ahmet Arslan: "We have become the world's 8th manufacturer of tunnel boring machines. -We aim to use a tunnel boring machine that is 16.8 meters in diameter for our Grand 3-Level Tunnel of İstanbul"...

The Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communication (UDH), Ahmet Arslan and the Minister of Economy Nihat Zeybekçi attended the Ceremony in Anadolu Organized Industrial Zone for introduction of Turkey's first domestic tunnel boring machine manufactured by E-Berk Makine ve Metalurji A.Ş.

In the speech that he delivered at the ceremony, Arslan pointed out that tunnel boring machines are used in many projects in Turkey and said "Now we aim to use a tunnel boring machine that is 16.8 meters in diameter for our Grand 3-Level Tunnel of İstanbul. These machines have to be ordered separately for each project. They are manufactured separately according to the tunnel's diameter and the unique ground conditions. Today we have become the world's 8th manufacturer of tunnel boring machines."

Stating that the company that manufactures tunnel boring machines, hence breaks new grounds, should not be content with it, Arslan said: "They are planning to manufacture tunnel boring machines that are 8 meters in diameter soon. We are ready to offer any kind of support with our President, Prime Minister and government on this matter. This will also support the industry and growth of our country, thus increasing the welfare, development and life quality of our people."

Pointing out that industry and commerce should grow in order for a country and its economy to grow, Arslan said "This is only possible with completing the transportation corridors. It is necessary to complete not only by highways but also by waterways and airways the corridor from Asia to Europe and from London to Beijing through Turkey. We have covered a great distance to this end in the last 15 years. We can do a lot more without being content with it."

The Machine Will Be Used in the Ergene Project  :

Stating that 54 percent of the material used is supplied from domestic sources, E-Berk Chairman Özgür Savaş Özüdoğru made the following statements about the domestic tunnel boring machine: "The tunnel boring machine that is 3.25 meters in diameter, 92 meters long, 175 tons, and has 800 KVA power, which has made our country the world's 8th manufacturer of TBM (tunnel boring machines), will be used in Deep Discharge Tunnel and Treatment Project in Ergene, Tekirdağ. In addition to the contribution to cleaning the River Ergene, this project will completely solve the treatment problem of the 9th organized industrial zone in Çorlu and Ergene. 54 percent of the materials used is supplied from domestic resources. We will show every effort to improve our objective to 60 to 70 percent in terms of domestic goods."

The company had reached an agreement with the Bank of Development and İş Bankası for a funding of €30 million.