Infrasturcure seems to be the most critical impediment to the development of the region.

Let me continue sharing the impressions I got on the Mardin-Şırnak line with some quick notes. As you walk around in the Anatolia, you cannot avoid witnessing that the institutional and financial infrastructure of Turkey has greater difficulty day by day in bearing the ongoing transformation process. I think it is inevitable that the inventory of government debt securities (GDSs) will rise in the near future.

If you ask me 'what stroke your attention the most during your trip' I would definitely say 'new buildings'. A busy construction schedule catches your eyes everywhere around. The construction of a hotel in Şırnak was the best of all in my consideration. A 200-bed five start hotel facing the Cudi Mountain is being constructed in Şırnak. And the building was quite impressing that it could make one think 'It appears that entrepreneurs are expecting the Cudi Mountain to be opened for tourism soon'. I hope there will emerge no constraints and Cudi becomes a mind blowing tourism zone. I witnessed the same also in Cizre district. All around are new buildings under construction. In most of the districts and boroughs let alone province centers, there are parts making you say 'and this would be the old town'. And obviously, there is a new town, too. The erosion of the historical texture of the region is quite visible. This is not something pleasant. On the other hand, there also is an apparent economic buoyant.

Growing trade with the Iraq following US's operation seems to have somehow served to the region. This is actually what the stimulus in registered employment figures in spite of the 2008 global crisis implies. Over the last one and half years, registered employment in the Tigris region has increased almost by 30% from 70 thousand to 100 thousand. The same can be said for trade volume, too. Turkey has the largest share in Iraq's imports with 23%. Share of processed goods in exports rises continuously. The region exports foods and construction goods to Iraq. Due to the proximity to the market, region has an advantage in bulk goods; i.e. goods heavy in weight, light in value. The biggest rival in this market is Iran. While we have trouble in operating a single border gate, Iran carry out endeavored activities in four border gates. But border gates do not constitute the only infrastructure; condition of roads and access to electricity are also challenging problems.

In Cizre we held a three-hour meeting during which electricity went on and off two times and than off again permanently. Participants of the meeting from few industrial facilities of the region said: 'This is what we are talking about. Currently our machinery runs through the auxiliary power plant. That means, currently we are recording loss due to high input costs. We thus face troubles in competing with Iran.' Subject of the most frequently voiced criticisms was electricity cuts. I remember writing 'Baghdad still has five hours electricity each day' in one of my recent commentaries in Referans daily. Though the problem is not that severe in the region, it is still a problem. The problem is not only about the electricity being off and on; the quality is also problematic. And reading this as 'what can we do? It stems from illegal electricity use' seems to be nothing but a poor excuse.

Then how should we read this? It appears that the ongoing rapid transformation in the region; growing industrial activity and electrical appliances such as air conditioners used in houses has surpassed the capacity of old electricity infrastructure. And this appears to be the most critical infrastructural impediment to both industrialization of the region and increasing consumption in the region.

If institutional and financial infrastructure fails to meet the economic development potential, it prevents rather than supports development. This is what I observed in the Tigris region.

Reconstruction of Iraq is a time-specific opportunity. Once missed; it never recurs.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 27.11.2010