A consultation meeting was held for the Energy Efficiency Compass for Producing Cities: KTO Energy Efficiency Assessment Center Project, which was submitted by the Konya Chamber of Commerce to the Mevlana Development Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Technology’s Producing Cities Program and whose contract was signed in recent days.

At the meeting, the activities to be carried out within the scope of the project were discussed in detail.

With the project, which will be implemented with the support of the Mevlana Development Agency, it is aimed to establish an Energy Efficiency Assessment Center that will provide a sectoral competitive advantage by increasing the energy efficiency of the manufacturing industry in Konya and its surroundings.     

Evaluating the project they supported after the meeting, Mevlana Development Agency Secretary General İhsan Bostancı said, “The pressure created by the global population increase and economic growth on natural resources is increasing day by day. For this reason, price increases and supply constraints in production inputs direct countries to take measures for the efficient use of resources. Energy efficiency has become one of the issues that has been sensitively emphasized in our region, our country, and globally in recent years. This situation has become a more strategic issue for our Region, which has become an important production center with its leap in the manufacturing industry in recent years and whose demand for energy is increasing day by day. In addition, at a time when we are struggling as a country to reduce our foreign dependency on energy, the importance of energy saving and efficient use of energy is increasing manifold. In this direction, as an institution, we have mobilized an investment of 108 Million TL in our region with the co-financing of the beneficiaries by transferring a resource of over 52 Million TL to our region with our Financial Support Programs that we have announced since our establishment for the use of renewable energy sources and the efficient use of energy. A resource of 1 Million 200 Thousand TL has been allocated for this project, which will be carried out by our Konya Chamber of Commerce and implemented with the support of our Agency within the scope of the Ministry of Industry and Technology Producing Cities Program. Within the scope of the project, it is aimed to establish an Energy Efficiency Assessment Center that will increase the international competitiveness by increasing the energy efficiency of the manufacturing industry in Konya and its surroundings. The center, which will be implemented with the support of our Agency, is also aimed to be transformed into a center that will guide the manufacturing industry regarding the reduction of the carbon footprint, which is one of the natural consequences of the studies to be carried out on energy efficiency. The center, whose installation will be completed within the scope of the project, will be able to perform energy efficiency services for enterprises operating in all sub-sectors of the industry, energy production, transmission and distribution facilities, and organized industrial zones with the authorization it will receive from the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources, and will also be able to provide energy manager training with additional authorization. The center will also be a consultation and guidance center for the manufacturing industry regarding applications and funds related to energy efficiency and carbon footprint. With these feelings and thoughts, I would like to thank our Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank for their support in including this project, which we believe will make great contributions to our Region and surrounding provinces, within the scope of the Producing Cities Program, and everyone who contributed to the preparation of the project, especially Konya Chamber of Commerce President Selçuk Öztürk, and I wish the project to be beneficial,” he said.

Afterwards, Konya Chamber of Commerce President Selçuk Öztürk, speaking about the project they will carry out as a Chamber, said, “We are continuing our work on the establishment of our KTO Energy Efficiency Center within the Konya Chamber of Commerce Technology and Education Campus. Our Energy Efficiency Center, together with the Vocational Training Center, Foreign Trade Center, and Model Factory, will contribute to our companies for the development of Konya's industry and trade within the Konya Chamber of Commerce Technology and Education Campus. As it is known, Turkey is a country dependent on foreign sources for energy. For this reason, it is a necessity for all of us to use Turkey's existing energy efficiently. The biggest input of our industrialists is energy. This center will reduce costs in this sense and will also increase the competitiveness of our companies. Our KTO Energy Efficiency Center, like our other projects and affiliates, will be implemented with the support we receive from our state. At this point, I would like to thank MEVKA for its support for all our projects and wish our project to be beneficial,” he said.