Speaking at a meeting celebrating the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the company, Ersü pointed out that there is no nuclear power plant in the country, and no Turkish construction firm has experience building such a plant; however, he added that Gama has extensive experience in the construction of power stations, which is not very different from nuclear power plants. Since 1977, the company has bid on every nuclear power plant tender in Turkey, and before placing these bids the company sought out the necessary training and information on constructing such plants, he said. “However, all of those tenders were cancelled. I am sure that if there is another tender we will be bidding again. Because we are one of the few companies that can undertake such a project in Turkey.”
Ersü, stressing that neither GE nor Gama are willing to invest in the nuclear power plant project, continued by saying: “GE and Gama Energy [subsidiary of the holding], preferably together, will participate in the tender for the construction of a nuclear power plant. We can consider taking a small share in the investment project after assuming the construction project.”
Gama Holding Strategic Planning, Financing and Investments Group Chairman Hakan Özman, making a presentation on the past 50 years of the holding at the meeting, stated that Gama Energy set its target to invest $4 billion in the energy sector in the next five years. The total energy sector investment of the holding to date is $1.5 billion, he said. Gama, which employs some 20,000 workers in 17 countries, has 65 percent of its assets in foreign countries, and so far has completed more than 250 projects abroad. Of them, the Disi-Amman Water Conveyor Project, with a $1 billion budget, is the biggest overseas project undertaken by a Turkish firm, Özman recalled.
According to 2008 data, Gama’s total assets are $1.4 billion. Of the company’s $1.27 billion in turnover, 27 percent came from Turkey while 28 percent was earned in Russia, 26 percent in the Middle East and 11 percent in Europe. “Gama has been named the 60th largest construction firm on the Engineering News-Record’s (ENR) Top 225 Global Contractors 2008 list. The company ranked as the fifth largest construction firm in chemical plant construction, 16th largest in power station construction, 13th largest in industrial plant construction and fourth largest in fossil fuel plant construction,” Özman said.
