Turkish businesspeople ink deals worth €474M in Senegal

By Bahattin Gonultas

DAKAR (AA) - Turkish businesspeople accompanying President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Senegal signed three deals valued at €474 million ($581.8 million).

Erdogan visited Senegal on Thursday as part of his four-nation Africa tour.

Turkey's Kolin Construction signed a deal with the Senegalese General Directorate of Highways for construction of a road which costs nearly €400 million.

Another Turkish firm Alpler Agricultural Machinery inked a €60-million deal with Senegal's National Merchants and Industrial Union.

In addition the Force Group sealed a metro station construction project in the Senegalese capital Dakar for €14 million.

Kolin Construction's top executive Devrim Kologlu told Anadolu Agency they had previously constructed a 100-kilometer (62-mile) road in Uganda and had since then been interested in the Senegalese market.

"President Erdogan is giving us a major support, boosting our morale and helping us overcome obstacles," he said.

Serkan Aktas, general manager of Alpler Agricultural Machinery, said the deal his firm signed includes establishment of assembly lines for agriculture machines in 14 Senegalese cities and warehouses for their storage.

Aktas said that they regard Senegal as a hub in West Africa.

"We are operating in at least 30 countries in Africa. Our annual export to Africa is almost €30 million," he said, adding that the latest project in Senegal is their second largest.

Their previous project in Sudan tallied €120 million.

Aktas added that they aim to introduce modern agricultural techniques used in Turkey to African countries.

"In the next five years we want to modernize agriculture in Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana with these machines," he said.

Force Group's board member Gokhan Uygun said that their investments in Senegal will increase.

"Our goal is to invest in high-volume projects in Senegal," he said, adding that his company had been doing business in Africa since 2001.

Uygun said Erdogan's attention to African countries had been reciprocated.