Elazığ CCI High Advisory Council Held with the Participation of Members of Parliament

The Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry High Advisory Council Held Its First Meeting of 2026.
The meeting was attended by AK Party Elazığ Members of Parliament Prof. Dr. Erol Keleş, Ejder Açıkkapı and Mahmut Rıdvan Nazırlı, Elazığ CCI President İdris Alan, the business community and High Advisory Council Members.
At the meeting, what needs to be done in the fields of the city’s economy, incentives, industry, social affairs and tourism was discussed.
Speaking at the opening of the meeting, Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry President İdris Alan said, “The sensitivity shown by our Members of Parliament towards the problems and difficulties of the business community increases our enthusiasm for new investments and makes us more self-confident.”
Saying that there is an issue that hangs over the business community and producers like the Sword of Damocles at the end of every year and makes investors uneasy, namely the Incentive Law, President Alan asked the Members of Parliament for support in moving this practice, which puts investors through agony every year, to a position covering long periods.
Alan also raised many issues on behalf of the city, from On-Site Transformation to the logistics base centre.
President Alan expressed the following views in his speech:
“ It is a great honour and pride for us to hold the first meeting of the year with the participation of our esteemed Members of Parliament. Because we, as the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, have seen the support of our very valuable Members of Parliament by our side at every step and in the solution of every problem. I thank, in your presence, our Honourable Members of Parliament, who shoulder all the problems of the city, above all those of the business community, take them to heart and show great determination in resolving them, for their support.
The sensitivity shown by our Members of Parliament towards the problems and difficulties of the business community increases our enthusiasm for new investments and makes us more self-confident.”

President Alan:
“Our High Advisory Council Sheds Light on Our Path and Guides Us”
Stating that in December 2024, as the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, they formed the High Advisory Council, consisting of our business people who lead the economic development of our province and our country, who prioritise not only individual success but also common wisdom and participation, and each of whom has written success stories in their own field, President Alan said, “Our High Advisory Council, a first in the history of the city, sheds light on our path, leads and guides us in removing the obstacles to solving problems by carrying out work for the economic growth and development of our province. In your presence too, I once again thank our High Advisory Council Members for their dedicated efforts and services. May they be blessed and thrive.”

President Alan:
Pointing out that the most important condition for the rise of the economy, trade, employment and consequently social life and quality of life is production, President Alan said, “A country or city that does not produce cannot develop or progress. The most fundamental element of production is providing our investors with the necessary support; supporting producers through infrastructure and the incentive law, above all by removing bureaucratic difficulties. As Elazığ, after we loudly conveyed our demand on this matter to our last Prime Minister, Mr. Binali Yıldırım, we have been benefiting from the opportunities and advantages of the 6th region in incentives since 2017. To see what the incentive practice has brought to the city, it is enough to look at the employment figures in the first OSB before 2017 and the current employment figures. Employment, which was only 2500 before the incentives, has today approached 20 thousand and is constantly increasing.”

President Alan:
“The Investment Drive Brought by the Incentives”

Stating that, due to the opportunities offered by the incentive law, they were unable to meet the increasing demand for parcels and, since there was no space left in the first OSB, they brought our second OSB, TEKNOVA OSB, to life, President Alan said, “We were pleased to see that many of our companies started production in this area. In particular, we launched our initiatives for a Mixed OSB in order to develop the economy of the Kovancılar, Palu and Karakoçan region, where our fellow townspeople working abroad as business people are concentrated, and to enable our fellow townspeople abroad to invest in their own localities. After bureaucratic procedures lasting about three years, first our land was allocated, then the entrepreneur committee was formed, and then, one day earlier, our Minister of Industry and Technology, Mr. Fatih Kacır, announced that Kovancılar OSB had been officially established. I once again thank you, our valued Members of Parliament, for your support and contributions in this difficult process, and I wish that this development, which will affect the destiny of our city, will be beneficial for our city and our three districts.”

President Alan:
“We Have Always Seen Our Members of Parliament by Our Side in Solving Problems”
Stating that no matter how much we voice the problems of industrialists, producers and investors in Elazığ and no matter how many calls we make, the authority and centre for resolving our demands is Ankara, the Ministries and political institutions, President Alan said, “The representatives of the political institution in our province are our very valuable AK Party and People’s Alliance Members of Parliament who are among us today. Our demands and problems can only be resolved if the political institution hears them and takes steps. As Elazığ CCI, we have never felt alone in making our voice heard and in their supporting the solutions to our problems. We said Incentive Law, and we found our deputies by our side. We said TEKNOVA, we said Disaster Area, we said 6th Notary Office, we said breathing-room loans for SMEs, we pointed out that the hot springs in our Karakoçan district and other areas of our province are not operated to the standards required by the sector, we said fisheries, we said Baskil road, we said Airport ILS, we said an Industrial Estate for our Palu district, we said Baskil apricots, we said micro precautionary loans; in short, we voiced many demands for our city.
Many of these demands of ours were either raised from the parliamentary rostrum or submitted to Parliament as parliamentary questions requesting answers from the relevant Ministers.
Therefore, we have always seen our Members of Parliament by our side and right next to us. They regarded each of our demands as the voice of the business community, the main locomotive of the city, and thus of the city’s production power, and immediately took the initiative, acted and offered solutions. I once again thank them in your presence for the will and sincere approach they have shown for the interests and future of the city.”

President Alan:
“The Uncertainty in Incentives Makes Investors Uneasy”
Pointing out that the uncertainty regarding incentives, which hangs over the business community and producers like the Sword of Damocles at the end of every year and makes investors uneasy, must come to an end, President Alan said, “This issue, which makes investors break into a cold sweat at the end of every year and puts them through the dilemma and hesitation of ‘will it be abolished or will it continue?’, is a serious problem in that our investors cannot see ahead, and it breaks investors’ enthusiasm and extinguishes their excitement. The incentive law, which was most recently extended for two more years and will end on 31 December 2026, instead of encouraging our new investors to invest, is pushing them into hesitation and holding back. When fluctuations in the economy and the rise in gold are added to this, keeping capital tied to gold is seen as more attractive than investing. Unfortunately, this situation deals a major blow to the real sector, production and exports. Our valued Members of Parliament; Capital loves safe havens and environments, and it grows there. Investors who cannot see ahead do not take risks, and capital is locked under the mattress. Our request from you, our valued Members of Parliament, is that this practice regarding the incentive law, which puts our investors through agony every year, be moved to a position covering long periods. If investors see this clarity and transparency, even our opening a third OSB in the city centre will not be enough.”

“We Continue Our Demand for a Logistics Base Centre”

Recalling that, as a city, we have passed through important tests because we are an earthquake zone and have experienced the 2020 and 2023 earthquakes, President Alan said, “Our building stock has been renewed to a significant extent, with the contributions of our Honourable Members of Parliament as well, and with the housing built in reserve areas we have risen to the position of a province that is largely safe against earthquakes. However, on-site transformation in the city centre has still not been started and the city has not been able to get rid of its appearance of rubble. In this regard, property owners unfortunately did not show sufficient interest, due to their economic conditions, in the on-site transformation project launched by our municipality covering four of our neighbourhoods.

The single and definitive solution in this regard is for TOKİ and Emlak Konut to take on and support on-site transformation. Another long-standing demand of ours is this: with the experience we have gained regarding earthquakes, both as our official institutions, our non-governmental organisations and as the public, we are in a position to respond immediately to a possible earthquake that may occur in the provinces of Bingöl and Tunceli, to which earthquake experts frequently draw attention. However, we once again reiterate in your presence our demand for a Logistics Base Centre that would officially organise this.”

“We Are Counting the Days to Our Trade Fair”

Stating that, as the Elazığ Chamber of Commerce and Industry, they are excited to achieve a first after a gap of 23 Years, President Alan said, “We are opening the ‘Elazığ CCI General Trade Fair’, which we will hold under the leadership of our Chamber, on 6-7-8 February. We also invite you to our fair, where our investors and our people will meet. Here I would like to give the floor to our esteemed Members of Parliament. But I say once again that Elazığ is not without owners; the owners of Elazığ and of the Elazığ business community are us and the esteemed Members of Parliament present here today. No one has the right or authority to portray the city as ownerless by making negative statements. Our Governor, our Members of Parliament, our Mayor, our Chambers, our tradespeople, our bureaucrats, the valued business people in this hall and, ultimately, all our fellow townspeople are the owners of this city. The most concrete example of this is the great change and transformation the city has experienced in the last 20 years. I once again welcome our Honourable Members of Parliament who have honoured us with their visit today, and I extend my respects.”

Member of Parliament Nazırlı:
“President Alan’s Agenda Is Our Agenda”

AK Party Elazığ Member of Parliament Mahmut Rıdvan Nazırlı said that the issues raised by President Alan are on the agenda of all the representatives of the city.
Member of Parliament Nazırlı said: “Our President has just touched on very important issues here. The issues of the incentive law and the logistics base centre are truly on all our agendas. It is one of the issues that must take a very important place on the agenda of politicians, our chambers, our mayors and all the institutions of the city.
There is a matter that I personally recommend to our young people in Elazığ, and that I strongly recommend to our business people as well. A matter that has left Elazığ somewhat behind in some respects: We must prepare our young people for business life. We must encourage our young people to invest and to enter business life. We must explain the opportunities in trade to them properly, so that entrepreneurs, business people and industrialists are raised from our Elazığ.
In past periods we held many meetings here. Again, under the chairmanship of our President here, we developed a meeting with Turkish Airlines. Trade, for our merchants to develop their trade. This was a very fine, exemplary project. By increasing projects like this, with your contributions too, we need to develop our trade volume and employment in Elazığ. My President, I thank you again for your speech. In terms of its content and its messages, it was truly very important and very valuable. Well said. I also thank you for inviting us to this meeting and for receiving us.”

Member of Parliament Açıkkapı:
“We Have Taken Note of the Points on Incentives”

AK Party Elazığ
Member of Parliament Ejder Açıkkapı stated that they had taken note of the points regarding the continuity of the incentive law and that they would wage the necessary struggle for its extension.
Member of Parliament Açıkkapı said: “My Honourable President, Mr. İdris Alan, has truly touched on very important issues. Of course, we believe that the presence here of the High Advisory Council as a higher intellect for Elazığ’s industry, trade, development and services fulfils a very important function in terms of being able to guide us. Regarding the continuity of the incentive law, God willing, we have taken our notes together with our colleagues. Of course, it will end on 31 December 2026. Of course, we will make every effort we can, together with you, combining our voice perhaps with your strong voice, for its extension into the future, and we will also strive to achieve a positive result.
Of course, our government has certain policies, economic policies. The conditions in the world, the wars around us, the pandemic we experienced in the past, the serious difficulties our country has gone through… We do not deny these anyway. In the light of these realities, God willing, we will strive to meet these demands of our business people. I thank my President İdris for organising such a meeting and all my brothers and sisters at the Chamber of Commerce.”

Member of Parliament Keleş:
“We Have Made Significant Progress in Irrigation Projects”
AK Party Elazığ Member of Parliament Prof. Dr. Erol Keleş described with figures the struggle being waged for the chronic problems of the city.
Member of Parliament Keleş said: “I think it is a serious added value. As my President also stated, I think it is also important especially for our investors from this region who live abroad to invest here by benefiting from the sixth region incentives. Elazığ has chronic problems, it had chronic difficulties. For example, one of them was the Pertek Bridge. At present we have reached the completion stage of the project for the Pertek Bridge. God willing, after the project is completed in the first half of 2026, in the subsequent process we will also work, in consultation with the ministry, for it to be included in the investment programme. These are our 30-40-year-old problems, but I sometimes watch in astonishment; I see that some people are not aware of this, are not aware of where the process has reached, and constantly bring these up for the purpose of opposition. This truly saddens me. Because, look, we have completed the first phase of the Kozova Irrigation Project. This is an area of 48,000 decares, that is, an area of 4.8 hectares, and we have brought it together with water. There we installed a two-megawatt SPP on land and a one-megawatt SPP on the Keban Dam as a floating SPP, for the first time in Türkiye. Three megawatts in total. I have now seen that the three-megawatt floating SPP has reached the contract stage and that it will also be built in a very short time. We have made very serious progress in Uluova. Look, in 2025 we received an investment of 550 million. In Uluova, the foundations of the Uluova pumping station have now been laid and the machines have arrived. They are installing them as well. The pumping station is being built, and at the same time pipes are being laid. Of the 369-kilometre section of pipe laying, 172 metres have now been laid; we are at the level of forty-some percent. Our target is 2027; in this regard, in addition to the 550 million, at the end of the year, too, although we sometimes do not announce it, at the end of the year we also received an additional allocation of 150 million.”

Thanking Elazığ Chamber of Commerce President İdris Alan, Member of Parliament Keleş said: “I thank our President İdris in your presence for organising such a meeting. I also thank you for the efforts you have made, for the efforts you have made for our Elazığ.”

After the speeches, the programme ended with a question-and-answer session.