How has Cengiz Holding destroyed Turkey's forests?

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Having faced public criticism because of its close ties to the government, Cengiz Holding released a commercial film with the slogan "The tree that bears fruit will be stoned."

The film shows several children throwing stones to a tree while one child is warning them not to do so. Then when an elderly man arrives, the children run away.

"The hardest thing is to be a tree that bears fruits," the man says. "There will be many people who will want to stone it but it still wants to blossom every spring, to be reborn with its seeds."

In the video description on YouTube, the company says it has always prioritized the interests of the country and developed projects that benefited the country and its people.

Cengiz Holding was one of the 10 companies that won the most public tenders in the world in a decade, along with five other companies from Turkey, according to the World Bank's 2018 figures.

Especially because of the guaranteed payments they receive in the public-private partnership projects, the five companies have faced public criticism and are dubbed as the "gang of five" by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP).

Here are some of Cengiz Holding's projects that caused ecological destruction contrary to how it portrays itself in the commercial:

İstanbul Airport

Cengiz Holding, Mapa, Limak, Kolin and Kalyon companies won the Third İstanbul Airport tender worth 52 billion lira (6.8 billion USD).

In the project's environmental impact assessment report, the number of trees to be cut down was stated as two-and-a-half million.

According to an analysis by the Northern Forests Defense based on satellite images, 13 million trees were felled between 2012 and 2019 for the construction of the airport.

Eight million trees were felled for the airport, 1.2 million trees were felled for the quarries that were opened for the construction of the airport and 3.7 million trees were felled for the Northern Marmara Highway, which goes to the airport, the analysis showed.

Along with trees, millions of living beings lost their homes and lives. The number of them has not been determined.

Mine in Artvin

Eti Copper, a mining company owned by the Cengiz Holding, started mine exploration and extraction operations in Cerattepe in the Black Sea province of Artvin in 2016.

The locals blocked the road and resisted the operations for days despite interventions by law enforcement officers upon instructions by the company.

Before the Cengiz Holding arrived, Cerattepe had one of the richest floras in the country and the world and on birds' migration route.

Almost all of the region where the project was intended to be implemented was forest land with spruce, scotch pine, fir and beech trees.

Construction work continued in Murgul district with cyanide pools. Thousands of trees were cut down again. The natural habitat of living beings was destroyed. The animals that drank from the polluted water of the streams died.

Mine in Ida Mountains

The Doğu Biga Mining Company, the local partner of the Canada-based Alamos Gold firm, which fell 200,000 trees last year on the Ida (Kaz) Mountains in Çanakkale, northwestern Turkey, halted operations after its license was not renewed following its expiration on October 13, 2019.

The company was not evacuated from the mountains despite not having a license for 10 months and then Cengiz Holding stepped in, buying Truva Copper Business Inc. from the Canada-based Liberty Gold and Teck Resources companies.

The environmental impact assessment that the company wanted to be held for the Halilağa Copper Mine project didn't take place after protests by locals.

Hasankeyf Ilısu Dam

Hasankeyf, an ancient city in the eastern Batman province, met nine of the 10 criteria for designation as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Hasankeyf, 40 villages and the history of the ancient city submerged in the water after the Ilısu Dam, which was constructed by Cengiz Holding and Nurol Holding, became operational. Most houses and agricultural lands in 60 villages submerged as well.

Residents of Hasankeyf, a district with a population of around 7,000, moved to the new residential area built by the Housing Development Agency (TOKİ).

Yusufeli Dam and hydroelectric plant

A consortium by Limak, Cengiz and Kolin construction company won the tender for a dam and hydroelectric power station in Yusufeli, Artvin with a proposal of 486,8 million lira (~64 million USD) in August 2012.

Still under construction, the height of the dam has reached 225 meters.

Along with the dam, Limak Holding companies also undertook the construction of the road and tunnels between Artvin and Erzurum.

The excavation soil coming from the tunnels was dumped into the dried stream where the two companies worked together. With the rain in July 2020, floods occurred in the region, which caused the excavation soil to pile up on a construction site, killing four workers.

Also, many villages in the center of Artvin and the districts of Ardanuç, Yusufeli and Şavşat were submerged in the water. Villagers who earn a living with agriculture and animal husbandry had to migrate. Agricultural areas where various fruits, including olives and tangerines, were destroyed with the project as well.

The 2021 energy tender

On November 13, the Cengiz Electricity Company won the electricity procurement tender lodged by the parliament for 2021 with a proposal of 12.9 million lira. The parliament and the company signed an agreement on December 3.

The company also won a tender lodged by the Ministry of Industry and Technology on October 20 with a proposal of 3.4 million lira.

Other projects

Here are some of the construction works undertaken by the company alone or in a consortium:

• Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant Port
• Ordu-Giresun Airport
• Rize-Artvin Airport
• Hüseyin Avni Paşa Grove
• Ankara High Speed Train Station
• Gümüşhane Belt Highway
• Yakakent-Gerze Road
• Kastamonu-Çankırı Road
• Kiğı-Yedisu Road
• Yukarı Kaleköy Dam and Hydroelectric Power Station
• Köseköy-Vezirhan (Part 1) High Speed Train
• Vezirhan-İnönü (Kesim 2) High Speed Train
• Yerköy-Yozgat-Sivas Railroad
• Kırıkkale-Yerköy (Kesim II) Railroad
• Palu-Genç-Muş Railroad
• Ovit Tunnel
• İstanbul-Şile-Ağva Road

(TP/VK)