Rönesans Holding Aims to Lead Türkiye in Sustainable Contracting Services

Our Goal Is to Lead Türkiye in Sustainable Contracting Services

Representing the Turkish contracting industry in some of the world’s most challenging regions, Rönesans has revitalised Ballast Nedam, a 150-year-old construction company acquired in 2015, restoring it to its former glory. Ballast Nedam, a leading brand in sustainable construction solutions, reached a total project portfolio of approximately EUR 33 billion by the end of 2024, contributing 40% of Rönesans’ turnover. 

Rönesans Holding, through its acquisition of Ballast Nedam in 2015, has taken significant strides towards a sustainable world, primarily in the Netherlands and throughout Europe.

Among the standout projects led by Ballast Nedam under Rönesans are protecting the Netherlands from flooding, addressing the country's annual housing requirement of 100,000 units with high-rise, high-quality, and more economical solutions, and constructing land-based wind turbines over water.

Recently, Ballast Nedam, part of Rönesans group, sustainably renovated one of Europe's most iconic stadiums, the Johan Cruijff Arena. Now, it is preparing to expand the headquarters of the European Investment Bank in Luxembourg, further enhancing connectivity within Europe's financial hub.

Ballast Nedam Became Profitable Within Three Years

İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp, Chair of the Board of Directors of Rönesans Holding, explains that Rönesans, which operates in more than 30 countries, has long aspired to become one of the world’s largest and most sustainable contractors, and that the company’s vision to expand its operations into Europe dates back many years. Ilıcak Kayaalp comments: “We operate in over 30 countries around the world. We have multinational partnerships in EPC, as well as the petrochemicals, thermal power, and energy industries. Ballast Nedam is a very old construction company, with roots going back to the 1570s, and it was also one of the largest construction firms in the Netherlands.

When we acquired it, the company was in financial difficulty. We didn’t interfere with its core operations, but we completely transferred the financial management to the Rönesans team. By preserving the existing teams at Ballast Nedam, we restructured the company and made it profitable within three years. 2024 has been a year in which Ballast Nedam stood out both for its sustainability approach and strong financial performance. With a revenue of EUR 1.2 billion, Ballast Nedam currently accounts for around 40% of Rönesans Holding’s annual turnover.”

We Will Increase Our Investment in Türkiye to EUR 12 Billion Within Five Years

Ilıcak Kayaalp stated, “As a Turkish company, we take pride in flying the Turkish flag in some of the world’s most challenging geographies. She continued: “We are investing in sustainability as a key theme for the future. Our investments in this area in Türkiye have reached EUR 40 billion. We are focused on developing projects in energy, renewable energy, hospital infrastructure, petrochemicals, industry, and general infrastructure.”

Our international operations are evenly distributed across regions in terms of scale. We are active in Asia, Europe, and Russia, and we aim to expand further in Europe. We also plan to grow in Türkiye. We have numerous projects in energy, particularly in wind and solar power, as well as in hospital infrastructure, petrochemicals, industry, and general infrastructure. Over the next five years, we will invest EUR 12 billion in Türkiye. Of this, EUR 5 billion will be allocated to hospital projects, with the remainder directed towards other sectors. The total value of our investments in Türkiye has reached EUR 40 billion.

Ceyhan PP Project Will Reduce Türkiye’s External Dependence

The USD 2 billion polypropylene (PP) production facility to be established in Ceyhan will reduce Türkiye’s dependence on imports in the petrochemical sector. The Ceyhan Polypropylene Production Facility will also make a significant contribution to the Turkish economy. Thanks to its technological capacity and production strength, the facility is expected to meet domestic demand while also exporting to regional markets. It is projected to provide a direct contribution of USD 300 million. The project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) works are being carried out by Ballast Nedam.

New Opportunities Have Emerged in the Middle East and Africa

Rönesans Holding is extending its strategic growth targets to the Middle East and Africa, planning new investments in these regions with a focus on sustainability and profitable growth. Company officials noted that Rönesans has previously operated in these regions and now aims to seize more opportunities and achieve further growth in this new period.

Sustainability Vision Strengthened by Global Partnerships

İpek Ilıcak Kayaalp, Chair of the Board of Directors of Rönesans Holding, summarises Rönesans’ approach to sustainability as follows: “We are focused not only on quality but also on delivering environmentally conscious, transformative projects that generate social benefit.”

Highlighting the urgency of the climate crisis, she continues: “It poses a serious threat to the world. We are working to become a solution partner at every level by collaborating with international partners, funds, global and local financial institutions, and in alignment with global regulations.”

She adds: “In Europe, our clients are highly advanced in their understanding of sustainability. We also adopt a client-focused approach. Ballast Nedam projects are fully aligned with the core sustainability goals of Rönesans Holding’s Board of Directors, administrative teams and project units. We are able to quickly follow developments in Europe and scale them across our other companies. As a global player, we are subject to strict sustainability audits required by financiers for various clients and projects, and we are obliged to implement them. 

To meet these requirements, we embed the necessary standards into each project and transfer them across our wider operations. In doing so, we meet both our partners’ expectations and embed our sustainability vision and strategy throughout the company. There is no longer any country without strict regulations. The European Green Deal has been in effect since 2008, and since 2016, lenders have been imposing increasingly strict requirements. As a result, every institution must adopt and implement its own sustainability strategy. Investor expectations regarding sustainability are also constantly rising. As an investor, I can say that this is a critical issue not only for us, but also for other companies.” 

Ballast Nedam, which is transforming the construction, contracting and real estate sectors with a focus on sustainability, aims to strengthen its international presence by expanding its operations across Europe, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia under the umbrella of Rönesans Holding. The company focuses on innovative solutions to enhance economic development, mobility and accessibility. We spoke to Ballast Nedam CEO Kemal Sağlam about these efforts:

Modular Construction Increases Speed and Reduces Carbon Emissions

Modular construction enables us to complete projects up to 50% faster and with lower carbon emissions compared to traditional methods, significantly reducing time spent on site. In addition, unlike traditional construction methods, modular construction generates only around seven-tenths of the waste. We have doubled our modular construction capacity in just two years. At Rönesans, we are offering faster, more sustainable and more cost-effective solutions to meet the Netherlands’ annual housing requirement of 100,000 units through modular building. With our Waldorp Four project in The Hague, which stands out with its 70-metre height and 1,171residential units, we are delivering not only the largest modular housing project in the Netherlands but also one of the largest in Europe.”

Land-Based Wind Turbines Built Over Water

Windplanblauw, located on the shores of Lake IJsselmeer, is a highly environmentally sensitive project that stands out for constructing land-based wind turbines over water. We created artificial islets and installed the turbines, typically built on land, onto these islets. This provided a more cost-effective solution compared to offshore turbines. Completed in 3.5 years, the project is situated within the Natura 2000 protected area. All construction activities were planned around
specific time windows, taking into account bird migration routes and the breeding cycles of waterfowl. Resting corridors of 300 metres were left between the turbines to accommodate bird movements. At the same time, artificial reef structures were installed around the turbine foundations to support marine life.”

Immersed Tunnel Technology

Ballast Nedam has constructed many of the 40-plus tunnels in the Netherlands. The Maasdeltatunnel, an immersed tunnel under the Scheur River, comprises two tunnel segments measuring between 185 and 205 metres in length, 40 metres in width, and 7 metres in height. These segments were joined at a depth of 30 metres. This size of immersed tunnel had never been constructed or installed before. We aim to replicate similar projects globally.”

A New Construction Paradigm from Ballast Nedam: Fast, Smart and Green. Not Carbon Neutral, but Carbon Positive

We aim to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2030. To achieve this, we are placing sustainability at the core of our business strategy and company culture. Today, we use electric construction machinery in many of our projects in the Netherlands, and more than half of our fleet is now electric.”

Source: Didem Eryar Ünlü / Ekonomim