Turkey's 1st domestic car plant passes environment test

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The Ministry of Environment and Urbanization of Turkey on Tuesday approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) for the construction of Turkey's first domestic car plant.

Turkey’s Automobile Joint Venture Group (TOGG) announced on Twitter that it has successfully completed the EIA.

The assessment consists of information on the potential environmental and social impacts of building a smart plant in the Gemlik district of the northwestern province of Bursa.

It also includes recommendations for the mitigation of potential adverse impacts, and enhancement of the beneficial ones.

In June 2018, five industrial giants: the Anadolu Group, BMC, Kok Group, Turkcell and Zorlu Holding as well as an umbrella organization, the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey, joined hands to create TOGG.

TOGG, which aims to produce one million electric vehicles by 2032, will make five different models -- SUV, sedan, c-hatchback, b-SUV and b-MPV -- until 2030, and own their intellectual and industrial property rights.

The factory's cost is expected to reach 22 billion Turkish liras ($3.7 billion). It will employ 4,323 staff, including 300 qualified personnel.