Tahir Tellioğlu, president of Turkey’s Construction Contractors Confederation, has announced that construction contractors will halt construction works across the country for 15 days as of September 9, as reported by Turkish media. The decision was made after a call made by Mr. Tellioğlu for a meeting with cement manufacturers to discuss increasing cement prices was not answered.
Claiming that cement manufacturers in Turkey are pursuing a policy of increasing prices by restricting production, Mr. Tellioğlu stated that a few big investors are planning to establish a cement factory and that the confederation may start to establish a cement factory if cement prices do not decrease.
Stating that rising construction costs have also pushed up housing prices, Hacı Ali Taylan, president of Turkey’s Realtors Federation, said that, if the strike is successful, the increase in housing prices can be prevented. Taylan stated that housing prices have increased by 20-40 percent due to the increases in prices of cement and iron.