By Dilara Sarı
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) invested a record €2.6 billion(US$2.7 billion) in Türkiye in 2024 – up from €2.5 billion in 2023 and €1.6 billion in 2022 – driven by the private sector’s appetite for the green transition and the Bank’s continuing support for regions affected by the devastating February 2023 earthquake.
For the fifth year in a row, Türkiye received the largest volume of investment of any of the Bank’s investee economies. The Bank invested in 51 different projects in the country, with 93 per cent of all investment going to the private sector. More than 60 per cent of all investments had a gender component.
Green investments enjoyed strong momentum, with nearly 60 per cent of the Bank’s annual investment in the country contributing to the green transition.
The EBRD’s green focus expanded across various sectors, supporting investment in renewables, investing in the first sustainability bond issued in the country by a private non-financial company and participating in a US$ 200 million syndicated loan to one of Türkiye’s largest discount retailers to support the company’s green aspirations.
In 2024, the Bank also spearheaded collaboration with the Turkish Ministry of Industry and Technology on the launch of the Türkiye Industrial Decarbonisation Investment Platform (TIDIP), an initiative also supported by the World Bank Group and International Finance Corporation. The platform aims to deploy US$ 5 billion in investment by 2030.
TIDIP builds on a previous EBRD initiative, the low-carbon pathway (LCP) project, which resulted in the Bank issuing its first ever loan to the country’s cement sector in 2024. Those low-carbon pathways seek to establish roadmaps for the decarbonisation of the hard-to-abate steel, aluminium, fertiliser and cement sectors.
The EBRD’s Managing Director for Türkiye and the Caucasus, Elisabetta Falcetti welcomed the results, saying: “In 2024, we witnessed a growing commitment from both public and private partners in Türkiye to accelerate the green transition. This commitment, combined with our unwavering support for the recovery and reconstruction of earthquake-affected regions, has contributed to another exceptional year for the EBRD in the country.
Looking ahead, we remain dedicated to working alongside our partners in Türkiye to advance our investment and policy goals, as set out in the recently approved EBRD Country Strategy for Türkiye 2024-29. Our partnership with Türkiye is testament to what can be achieved through collaboration, resilience and a shared vision for sustainable growth.”
A significant share of the EBRD’s work in Türkiye last year stemmed from its partnerships with leading financial institutions, which enabled the Bank to support a wide range of projects, strengthening the resilience of the Turkish economy but also advancing shared goals of sustainable growth and development.
The EBRD also continued to support recovery and reconstruction efforts in earthquake-affected regions in the south-east of the country.
Key projects in those regions included a loan to Enerjisa Enerji to help restore the distribution of electricity to affected communities, financing the Bank’s first municipal project to reconstruct the water and wastewater systems in Gaziantep, and a loan to Kipaş Mensucat to support the company in the aftermath of the earthquake.
The Bank has already implemented the majority of its initial €1.5 billion response to the earthquake, with its focus shifting to infrastructure projects in affected regions that are under strain owing to the earthquake and migration.
2024’s largest EBRD financing in the country was the Bank’s support to Nakkas Otoyol Yatirim ve Isletme, to finance the construction of the final section of the North Marmara Motorway. The €240 million syndicated loan marked the first road build-operate-transfer project in the country that was fully structured with the involvement of international financiers.
There was also a change to the Bank’s leadership in the country, with Elisabetta Falcetti taking over the Managing Director position from Arvid Tuerkner, who moved on to become Managing Director for Ukraine and Moldova. Falcetti is now the Bank’s Managing Director for Türkiye and Caucasus.
In November, the Bank released its new country strategy for Türkiye, identifying four key investment priorities: intensifying green transition, boosting human capital development, increasing competitiveness and investing in Türkiye’s infrastructure and regional integration.The Bank’s cumulative investment in the country passed the €20 billion mark in 2024, standing over €22 billion at the end of the year, with the Bank’s portfolio in the country now over €8 billion.
The Bank delivered a record €16.6 billion in investment across its various economies in 2024, with Ukraine and Egypt receiving the second and third-largest volumes of investment.
