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THE YARIKKAYA STORM
1976...
The construction of the sea terminal of the Iraq-Turkey Crude Oil
Pipeline at Ceyhan, signifying a break point for Tekfen. The work
was carried out under severe conditions, and during the famous
Yarıkkaya Storm the poles of the float came undone, causing the
float to sink. The project was nonetheless completed on time
thanks to the exceptional effort of the team.
GIVING LIFE TO
STEEL
1980s...
A worker grinding a weld
at the TİMAŞ steel plant in
Derince. Tekfen has been
giving life to steel, turning it
into structures that serve the
country’s economy. Pipelines,
refineries, industrial plants...
Tekfen builds them, and the
country prospers.
A WORD OF ADVICE
1981...
The opening ceremony of Toros Fertilizer Plant, built in face
of great hardship, was honoured by the presence of Turgut
Özal, Deputy Prime Minister at the time, and Şahap Kocatopçu,
Minister of Industry. The plant was commissioned at a time when
it had been only 15 months since the “January 24 Decisions” of
1980 had come into effect, marking a turning point for liberal
economy in Turkey. Later elected Prime Minister and President of
the Republic, Turgut Özal’s advice to Necati Akçağlılar expressed
his confidence in Tekfen and Turkey’s future:
“There are some great locations in this area. We will be needing
them to build large industrial plants. Buy some land.”
A MEGAPROJECT
1987...
Tekfen began the construction of the Tarsus-Adana-
Gaziantep (TAG) Highway, the project that lent its
name to a period. The project continued on and off
for 11 years, and became the biggest one-off project
for Tekfen and a megaproject in international terms
with its total cost running over USD1.8 billion.