Turkey's Teknopark Istanbul, a hub of research and development efforts similar to the Silicon Valley but for the country's defense and related industries, will be completed in 8-10 years, reported the Hurrietdaily. After construction it will generate nearly US$ 10 billion for Turkey's economy annually.

Teknopark Istanbul will operate a 750 thousand square meter indoor space at Sabiha Gokcen Airport, east of Istanbul, accommodating more than 30 thousand people and targeting US$ 10 billion in defense and nondefense business annually, to become one of Europe's largest technology parks.

The site will bring together companies and many universities in Istanbul, targeting strategic fields like aviation, maritime, electronics, information technology, nanotechnology, energy and automotive, biotechnologies, automation systems and robot technologies. Its major shareholders are the Under secretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), with a 45 percent stake, and the Istanbul Chamber of Commerce (?TO), with a 40 percent stake. Construction work began late last year, when Science, Industry and Technology Minister Nihat Ergun and SSM chief Murad Bayar laid its foundation.

Currently there are 37 teknoparks in Turkey, which include 1200 companies.