Good News from President Alan: Elazığ CCI Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School Project

Good News from President Alan: Elazığ CCI Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School Project

The Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry came together with the joint participation of Assembly Members, Professional Committee Chairs,  Committee Members and representatives of the business community.

Delivering the opening speech of the meeting, President of the Assembly Sedat Karataş stated that the Elazığ CCI Assembly is an exemplary assembly that holds its meetings with the highest participation and brings important projects to life.

Stating that they had gathered today not only to hold a joint meeting of the professional committees, but also to account for the term of service they have left behind, to show one by one where the  promises they made stand today, and to share their goals for the future of the Elazığ business community, Elazığ CCI President İdris  Alan expressed the following views in his speech:

“From the very first day we took office, we did not regard our Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry merely as an institution where membership procedures are carried out, documents are issued or routine services are provided. We aimed to turn our Chamber into a strong institution that hears the voice of its members, takes ownership of their problems, produces solutions and gives direction to the economic future of our city.”

“We Chose to Be in the Field, Not to Sit in the Office”

Stating that during the Elazığ CCI Presidency they chose to be in the field rather than sitting in the office, President Alan said, “We were at workplaces. We were at factories, production facilities and our organized industrial zones. We were in the bazaar, in the industrial estates and in our districts. In short, we strove to be wherever our members are.”

“We Regarded Each of Our Committees as the Voice of Its Sector”

Stating that they did not regard the professional committees merely as bodies that hold meetings, President Alan said, “We regarded each of our committees as the eyes, ears and voice of its sector. We listened to problems not at a desk, but from within the work itself.”

 “The Success of Institutions Is Measured by the Works They Bring to the City”

Stating that, in their understanding, the true success of institutions is measured not by the meetings they organise but by the lasting works they bring to their cities, President Alan said, “We, too, pursued works that will shape the future, not efforts that merely save the day.”

“We Promised, We Delivered”

Stating that they had established our physical Career and Employment Office within the Chamber, President Alan said:

“We set up the Elazığ CCI Advantage System  and formed our entrepreneur committees in Palu, Karakoçan and Kovancılar; we said that the labour of our producers should not turn into added value in other cities, and  we established ETAK. After a gap of 23 years, we successfully held the Elazığ CCI General Trade Fair. From the very first day we took office, we said ‘we will stand by Elazığspor’, and we kept our word. Through the support campaign we launched under the leadership of our Chamber, we brought approximately 30 million TL in resources to our club. From now on, we will continue to work with the same determination for the success of Elazığspor and to stand by and support this distinguished club, the pride of our city.”

“We Carried Out Work for Our Members’ Financing and Competitiveness”

Stating that through their joint work with UNDP they had secured 8 million TL in grants for their members in 2023, President Alan said, “In today’s value, this amount is 40 Million TL.  In addition, with the Nefes Loan we truly gave our members breathing room in access to finance. We knocked on every door and made every effort for the extension of the incentive law, and we ensured that it was extended. We raised the realisation rate of our Teknova Organized Industrial Zone from 5 percent to 90 percent. For the solution of the industrial estate problem, we made representations together with our Members of Parliament to our Minister of Industry and our Minister of Labour; our work for the Palu Industrial Estate continues with determination together with our Member of Parliament, Mr. Ejder Açıkkapı. We solved the notary problem at our Car Dealers’ Estate.”

Stating that they had made every necessary effort for our Elazığ Airport to be equipped with ILS – Instrument Landing System and had the system brought to our province, President Alan  stated that they had intervened in the Baskil highway problem, which had been discussed for years and caused hardship to our producers and transporters, and had partially resolved it.

“We Rushed to the Aid of Neighbouring Provinces in the Earthquake”

Stating that in the field of disaster and solidarity, through the organisation they set up within the Chamber during the 6 February earthquakes, they provided neighbouring provinces with the largest support in the region, President Alan said, “We waged the necessary struggle for Elazığ to be declared a Disaster Area Affecting General Life, and we had it declared. We did not remain indifferent to Gaza, the bleeding wound of the entire Islamic world; our Chamber has provided the aid that falls to it and will continue to do so.”

“We Applied for Geographical Indications for 35 Products”

 Stating that by applying for geographical indications for 35 products they had carried out the largest work of all time in this field in our province, President Alan said, “At the TOBB General Assembly, together with ETAK, we exhibited the products of our province before the Turkish business community. We carried out our work to bring the Karakoçan hot springs into the tourism and agriculture of our province.

Good News of a Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School for Elazığ

Expressing in his speech the view that “A strong economy does not grow by producing alone; you are strong to the extent that you can train the people who will produce,” President Alan said, “Elazığ wanted to produce, wanted to invest, wanted to grow; but it was struggling to access a trained workforce.

You can build modern factories. You can buy the latest technology machines. You can create new organized industrial zones. But if you cannot train the qualified people who will operate those machines, manage production and improve quality, you cannot achieve sustainable development. Because the greatest investment is not the one made in concrete, but the one made in people.

That is why today I am giving the good news: we are bringing the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School to our city.

In addition, the support and commitment regarding a second school, which our President of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Türkiye, Mr. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, promised to bring to Elazığ, remains valid.”

“We Have Brought the Elazığ CCI Vocational High School to the Tender Stage”

 Pointing out that the Vocational High School project he shared with the public today is not a promise put forward during the election period, President Alan said, “It is a real investment project whose preparations have been made, whose meetings with our public institutions have been completed and whose implementation groundwork has been laid.

After the election process is completed, we will complete the official procedures without losing any time and start the tender process. Then we will bring our school to our city at the most suitable cost.

This work will not be the work of any individual. Nor will this work be the work of any administration. This work will be the joint work of the Elazığ business community. In every brick of this school there will be the solidarity of Elazığ, in every classroom the future of Elazığ will be raised, and in every workshop the future of production will take shape. Our goal is not merely to build a school building. We will build a model that creates employment, not one that merely produces graduates.”

“Cities Without Strong Agriculture Cannot Have Strong Economies”

Stating that a city’s development cannot come from its industry alone, and that it is not possible for cities whose agriculture is not strong, whose producers do not earn and which cannot take ownership of their products to achieve sustainable growth, President Alan said, “We see agriculture as one of the strongest development areas for the future of Elazığ. In this direction, we have completed all preparatory work for the establishment of a Greenhouse Organized Industrial Zone in our province. To turn this project from a dream into reality, we did not work only at a desk; we invited the Assembly of the Mersin Chamber of Commerce and Industry to our province, listened to their experience in greenhouse farming, and held comprehensive consultations to develop a model that can be implemented on site. After the processes are completed, we aim to bring this important investment to life and make Elazığ one of the leading cities of modern, value-added agriculture.”

“We Never Took Refuge in Excuses”

Stating that in the period they have left behind they of course had shortcomings and there were also areas where they could have done better, President Alan said, “However, we never made excuses. We never ran away from problems. We never chose the easy way. Because we took on this duty not to hold an office, but to serve Elazığ.

We have seen those who turned Elazığ’s licence plate code into projects, and those who announced hundreds of projects prepared by artificial intelligence. We, on the other hand, acted with an approach that, before producing projects, prepares their feasibility, creates their funding and makes them implementable. Because Elazığ no longer needs to sell dreams, but needs projects that produce results. Because we believe that cities grow not with efforts that merely save the day, but with projects that shape the future. Our goal is not only to meet today’s needs; it is to leave works that our children and young people will be proud of tomorrow.

We will continue to work for an Elazığ that produces, develops and grows stronger; where our producers earn, our industrialists access the human resources they need, our young people look to the future with hope in their own hometown, and added value stays in Elazığ.

I thank all our Assembly Members, our Professional Committees, our Board of Directors, our employees, our public institutions, our Members of Parliament, our municipalities and, most importantly, our valued members who guide us, for trusting us, supporting us and working together with us on this path.

I wholeheartedly believe that together we will build a stronger Elazığ, a stronger business community and a stronger future.”