Doesn't Gebze, Turkey's "Industrial Capital", Deserve to be a Province?

What is Gebze's Capacity to Become a Province?

Gebze has more than enough capacity to become a province, and it has created this capacity with the "sweat of its brow".

After Mr. Bahçeli made the statement of 100 provinces in the 100th anniversary of our Republic, the desire, motivation and expectation to be among the first 19 in the cities expecting to become a province has emerged. The press frequently reports on 19 districts that are candidates to become provinces.

Naturally, this is also true for Gebze residents. In fact, Gebze was always in the expectation of becoming a province in the childhood and youth of myself, who has already passed half a century, and received promises on this issue many times, especially before the election periods. Many of the Kocaeli deputies elected from the Gebze quota also submitted motions to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on this issue repeatedly.

Becoming a province is not just a sweet whim for districts, not even at all. The people of the districts believe that when they become a province, they will be able to benefit more from the opportunities such as health, security, education, social life, etc. that the state provides and is obliged to provide for them, and this belief is true and valid in terms of "the science of public administration and organization". This is the main motivation for making districts provinces. If this were not the case, the state would not have repeatedly increased the number of provinces. As the population and construction increases in our country, the same issue will be constantly evaluated and the number of provinces will be increased again and again when necessary.

States are mega-sized organizations. Sub-organizations/institutions (provinces, districts, ministries, ministries, presidencies, SEEs, etc.) within the state organization/institution are equipped with public entities in direct proportion to their size in the form of personnel (state officials in public areas such as health, security-police, gendarmerie, finance, education, etc.) and employment, infrastructure (sewage, water, ground consolidation, etc.), superstructures (hospitals, schools, roads, trains, trams, subways, airports, etc.).

Both in theory and in practice, when we compare a province and a district with equivalent population density, we can claim that the province can receive better health, security, education, social opportunities, infrastructure and superstructure services than the district.

In that case, we should accept that it is a very natural endeavor for every district that considers itself worthy of being among the 19 districts that will become a province to try to explain the reasons why it should become a province.

Ultimately, it is the government that manages the state mechanism that will make this decision, and of course there will be much more and more detailed selection criteria for provincialization than our determinations, and the government will make its decision according to these criteria. In the meantime, the relevant experts of the state will certainly analyze and synthesize the reasons for the desire and motivation of the people of the districts to become provinces. 

"Gebze, the "most populous" district of Kocaeli, is the largest industrial district in the Marmara Region"

Gebze is a rapidly developing and growing district of Turkey with a rich historical background, whose economy is largely based on industry, located in the North West of the Gulf of Izmit in the Marmara Region and connected to Kocaeli province. Dilovası district to the east, Darıca, Çayırova, Tuzla and Pendik districts of Istanbul province to the west, and Şile district of Istanbul province and Ağva town of Şile to the north.

According to the 1997 census, the total population of Kocaeli province is 1,175,190 and the population of Gebze is 402,916. According to the 1997 census, Gebze District constitutes 34.28% of the total population of Kocaeli province. While the general population growth rate in Turkey was 100.8% between 1965 and 1997, this rate was 111.8% in Gebze. In 2008, before the local elections, Gebze's districts of Darıca, Çayırova and Dilovası became districts and separated from Gebze, while its population was over 500,000 thousand people before the elections. According to the study conducted by TURKSTAT, at the end of 2020, the population of Gebze district was 392,945 and the population of Gebze region was 799,075.

As a result, Gebze is indeed a district that is constantly producing and growing. Gebze is a district that produces goods, i.e. manufacturing, rather than service production.

Gebze is a district integrated with Istanbul rather than Kocaeli

Although Gebze is a district of Kocaeli, it is as integrated to Istanbul as other Istanbul districts in terms of both business life and private life. Being very close to Istanbul has brought about the rapid development of Gebze and made it almost the industrial city of Istanbul. Gebze, Çayırova and Darıca and Istanbul districts have literally merged. When traffic is not heavy, you can sip your tea in a café in Tuzla-Istanbul, your neighbor, in about half an hour by car from your home. If you want to do the same social activity in a cafe in Izmit in the same traffic density, you will be there in about an hour. 

Gebze's historical and cultural connection and relationship with Izmit is not as strong as with Istanbul. This is normal, because Gebze is closer to Istanbul and has historically been a sub-district or district of Istanbul. It has been the most preferred location for large industrial facilities in Istanbul when they relocate outside of Istanbul, and it has also been the most preferred location for Istanbul industrial companies seeking to establish manufacturing facilities outside of Istanbul. In summary; Gebze is almost fully integrated with Istanbul.

Also; please note that you will not find a single "Pişmaniye" factory or even a shop selling pişmaniye in Gebze. In other words, we cannot claim that Gebze has a common cultural bond with İzmit.

Gebze is the most productive district in Kocaeli in terms of production and the most populous district in terms of population.

Turkey is divided into six groups in terms of economic development. The first-degree developed provinces are Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Bursa, Kocaeli and Yalova. In this context, Gebze is located in one of the six most economically developed provinces in Turkey. It is the most productive district in Kocaeli in terms of production and the most populous in terms of population.

Gebze produces 1.69% of Turkey's GDP.

Gebze also accounts for 33.7% of Kocaeli province's GDP (Gross Domestic Product). Gebze also produced 1.69% of Turkey's GDP. Gebze has 10 Organized Industrial Zones, together with parts of them, the original 15 Organized Industrial Zones. There are also a large number of small, medium and large-scale manufacturing companies and production complexes, especially along the E-5 highway, and a large number of production/manufacturing industrial estates and enterprises within Gebze and in the neighborhoods of İstasyon, Balçık, Pelitli, Denizli, etc.

OIZs (Organized Industrial Zones) in Gebze

1. GOSB Gebze Organized Industrial Zone Part 1,2) 

2. TOSB Automotive Supply Industry Specialized Organized Industrial Zone

3. Dilovası Organized Industrial Zone (Part 1,2,3,4)

4. Kocaeli-Gebze VI. İmes Machinery Specialized Organized Industrial Zone

5. GPOSB, Gebze Plastics Organized Industrial Zone

6. GGOSB, Gebze Güzeller Organized Industrial Zone

7. Gebze Kömürcüler Organized Industrial Zone

8th Machinery Specialized Organized Industrial Zone

9. Kocaeli-Gebze V (CHEMISTRY) Specialized Organized Industrial Zone

10. Kocaeli SME Organized Industrial Zone

Pelitli OIZ should also be established in the Pelitli neighborhood, where many production facilities are located and industrial construction has progressed in the direction of Denizli, Mollafenari, because OSB-level organizations are very necessary and useful organizations both to provide appropriate and adequate services to companies within the OSB and to prevent environmental pollution and unplanned industrial construction. 

Gebze is an Integrated Industrial Complex.

Gebze is at the very center of the "Turkish Industrial Basin" extending from Çerkezköy in Tekirdağ to Adapazarı and even Bursa.

Gebze is the center of gravity of the "Turkish Industrial Basin".

Gebze is a center of attraction for high technology investments

Gebze industrial enterprises can access the information they need from Gebze Technical University in Gebze, Turkey's largest research center: TÜBİTAK MAM, Gebze Technical University Technopark, Gebze OSB Technopark and TÜBİTAK MARTEK Marmara Technopolis.

Gebze accounts for +3.0% of all taxes collected in Turkey, although many of its industrial companies are affiliated to Istanbul and Kocaeli Tax Offices.

Kocaeli is the fourth province after Istanbul, Izmir and Ankara, accounting for 10.07% of all taxes collected (2022). More than 1/3 of this tax is collected from Gebze. In other words, Gebze accounts for +3.0% of the taxes collected in Turkey, even though many of its industrial companies are affiliated to Istanbul and Kocaeli Tax Offices.

Although Gebze is the largest and most productive district of Kocaeli, it cannot benefit from the infrastructure facilities to the extent it deserves.

According to the population data for 2022, Kocaeli's tax revenue per capita in 2022 was 114 thousand TL. Considering that Turkey's average is 27 thousand 595 TL, Kocaeli has again become the province that provides the most profit to the state by far exceeding the average with the per capita tax it pays. More than 1/3 of this gain is thanks to Gebze.

However, while our province provides 114 thousand TL per capita tax revenue to our country's budget, the per capita expenditure in Kocaeli is only 10 thousand 343 TL. This expenditure is far below Turkey's average of 27,595 TL. Spending in Gebze, which is both more populous and more productive than the central province of Izmit, is also below that of the central province of Izmit. Although Gebze is the largest and most productive district of Kocaeli, it cannot benefit from infrastructure facilities to the extent it deserves.

If our district spends as much as the average amount spent by the state per capita across our country, many infrastructure deficiencies of Gebze district will be eliminated. It is evaluated that this fair distribution of expenditures can be budgeted in a more balanced and fair manner if Gebze becomes a province.

Is there an "Izmit Lobby" that does not want Gebze to become a province?

We can say that there is such an opinion, even a perception beyond rumor, among Gebze residents. Although the Izmit people I interviewed do not express this clearly, they have an opinion that they will be victimized if Gebze becomes a province. However, all these are not objective but subjective perceptions and rumors. The state decision-making mechanism does not make urban planning according to these opinions. However, especially when the publications and comments of the local press in Izmit are followed, we cannot ignore that there is a special effort by the state not to make Gebze a province. These are issues that can be discussed within the demographic structure, are normal, should not be exaggerated and should be respected. The people of İzmit and Gebze live as brothers and sisters under the roof of Kocaeli, and they will continue to live as brothers and sisters whether Gebze remains in Kocaeli or is separated.

What are the Obstacles to Gebze Becoming a Province? Are These Obstacles Logical and Important?

The most important argument in favor of Gebze becoming a province or metropolitan city is its small area. However, this criterion is actually a criterion identified and embraced by those who oppose the separation of Gebze from Kocaeli. What is important is the share that the people of a productive city can get from the health, security, infrastructure, social, etc. opportunities that our state provides to the settlements in return for this productivity.

For example, while Gebze, which is a larger district than the central district of İzmit, has only one state hospital, there are 4 state hospitals in İzmit, one of which is a large city hospital, one is a Faculty of Medicine hospital, and two are quite large state hospitals. 

So how can and should Gebze become a "province"?

Gebze province should be a city between Istanbul and Kocaeli in a geographical area extending from Marmara to the Black Sea, in a geographical region between Istanbul and Kocaeli, whose surface area has been increased by connecting the central district of Gebze, the districts of Darıca, Çayırova, Dilovası and Dilovası, as well as Ağva, a sub-district of Istanbul Şile, Kurtköy, a very large neighborhood of Istanbul Pendik District, and Kerpe, a large neighborhood of Kocaeli's Kandıra district, which is located on the Black Sea coast, not in Kandıra. The Marmara part of Gebze could focus on industry and technology, while the Black Sea part could focus on tourism and agriculture.

Gebze (Proposed Provincial Borders).

Gebze must be shown "loyalty", Gebze has already deserved it

Gebze must be shown "loyalty", Gebze has long deserved it. Gebze is a district that expands from the Marmara Coast to the Black Sea Coast, acts as a bridge between Istanbul and Kocaeli Metropolitan Cities, is integrated with the industrial zones of Istanbul and Kocaeli close to it, is integrated with the industrial zones of Yalova with the Osmangazi Bridge, has faster access to the world with Sabiha Gökçen Airport, has developed and will develop in the industrial sectors towards the Marmara Sea, and has a high potential for development with the tourism sectors towards the Black Sea, and is a district that constantly creates added value and generates added value.

The contribution of Gebze and the people of Gebze to the national economy is very high, but the public services (health, security, education, social life, etc.) that Gebze receives in return for this contribution are unfortunately not in proportion. 

For example, thousands of employees who go from the city to the OIZs to produce 24/7 endure an unimaginable traffic ordeal during working hours, or its population, which is much more crowded than official, does not receive enough public services such as health, education, security, etc. with its public infrastructure and superstructure that is not directly proportional to its population, or receives them too late.

It is evaluated and believed that if Gebze becomes a province within the framework we propose, there will be a positive increase in the public services Gebze receives from the state.

If Gebze becomes a province, the morale and motivation of the people of Gebze will increase, much more production with high added value will be realized, and more contribution will be made to the Turkish economy and welfare.

"Gebze, the Industrial Capital of Turkey" is a district that deserves to become a province and is waiting to become a province.