KTSO develops model for new production-focused industrial zones

The Kıbrıs Türk Sanayi Odası (KTSO) is examining a model for new private industrial zones in North Cyprus, with areas intended to be reserved for industrial businesses, according to a report by Halkın Sesi on September 28.

KTSO President Ali Kamacıoğlu said the proposed zones would be planned around production, business clustering and sector specialisation rather than developed as mixed-use industrial areas. The chamber is assessing issues including land acquisition, zone management and the legal and administrative rules that would govern businesses’ use of the sites, while continuing discussions with relevant institutions.

Kamacıoğlu said only about 17% of businesses in existing industrial zones across North Cyprus were engaged in genuine industrial activity. That figure was presented as his estimate and was not independently verified in the report.

He also described existing zones as having generally developed through a parcel-by-parcel, mixed-sector model with limited infrastructure capacity. According to the report, Kamacıoğlu identified fire safety, traffic congestion, inadequate infrastructure, environmental pollution and weak oversight as continuing problems, particularly in the Nicosia Organised Industrial Zone.

Separating production and warehouse areas

Under the KTSO proposal, industrial plots would be allocated on the condition that they are used for production. Industrial facilities, artisan businesses and commercial warehouse operations would also be separated into distinct areas.

Kamacıoğlu said future zones should take energy, water, transport, waste management, fire safety, environmental protection and logistics into account from the planning stage.

The chamber’s Sanayi ve Üretim Temelli Ekonomik Dönüşüm Programı also proposes converting existing industrial zones into modern production centres supported by infrastructure and organised around clusters and specialised sectors. The programme is intended to be pursued alongside the creation of new areas for industrial businesses.

Kamacıoğlu said the initiative aims to create new investment areas, reduce obstacles for investors and increase North Cyprus’s production capacity.