BMC company that will produce Altay Main Battle Tanks for Turkish Army has set ground breaking ceremony in Sakarya, Karasu district. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said “Turkish defence firms export armoured vehicles, air defence systems, rocket systems, simulators, coastal security vessels, communication control systems and various software across the world.”

Moreover, as a result of accelerating efforts, the defence industry's exports recorded a 17 percent rise compared to 2017 and surpassed the target of $2 billion last year, hitting a record high level of $2.04 billion.

“When this facility is fully operational, we expect a $5 billion added value for the Turkish economy. Apart from our needs, we will export the products manufactured here to different parts of the world, particularly to Qatar,” he said and added the exports of the facility is expected to total $1 billion.

Qatar holds a 49.9 percent stake in BMC; therefore, the new factory will also produce products for the Qatari military.

President Erdoğan said the facility will start operating in 2020. The first phase, for which the ground laying ceremony was held yesterday, will be built on an area of 100,000 square meters and completed by the end of this year.