GE announces energy investments in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey, Dec. 11 (UPI) -- GE Energy Financial Services will join GAMA Holding AS to invest in energy and water projects in Turkey.

The company said it will help the surrounding region meet rising demand for electricity and water, and grow in emerging markets.

GE will acquire 50 percent of the equity in GAMA's subsidiary GAMA Enerji AS, which already owns interests in a hydroelectric and a natural gas-fired power plant in Turkey totaling 1,150 megawatts. GAMA is also developing 855 megawatts of renewable and 1,000 megawatts of thermal generation projects in Turkey.

"Our partnership with GAMA Enerji establishes another excellent platform for our growth in Turkey and the surrounding region, and builds on GE Energy's longstanding equipment and services relationship with GAMA," said James Burgoyne, a managing director at GE Energy Financial Services. "That growth potential is evident right here in Turkey, where electricity consumption is growing at a compounded rate of six percent a year, requiring the addition of 4,000 megawatts annually that our partnership with GAMA can help deliver."