ESBAŞ's Dryland Landscape was Shown as an Example for Turkey

The arid landscape areas that ESBAŞ started to spread in the Aegean Free Zone, taking into account the decrease in Izmir's water resources due to global warming, were shown as the most successful application and an example for Turkey by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, which launched a National Water Mobilization for the efficient use of the decreasing water resources in our country, cited the arid landscape areas established by ESBAŞ in the Aegean Free Zone as the most successful application in our country in the Arid Landscape Applications Guide published to ensure urban water efficiency.

Having established and maintained a 215 thousand m2 landscape area in the Aegean Free Zone, ESBAŞ has implemented the arid landscape projects it started to establish in the region in 2019 in order to ensure water efficiency, increasing them year by year and implementing them on 3.5 acres.

In the guide published by the General Directorate of Water Management of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, it was stated that in the landscaping application designed with rich plant species and grass areas, 6 tons of water is consumed annually with 150 days of irrigation using 900 liters of water per square meter per day under seasonal conditions in Izmir, while it was emphasized that in ESBAŞ's arid landscape areas, the daily water need was reduced from 6 liters to 3 liters, and by irrigating 150 days a year instead of 30 days a year, the annual consumption was reduced from 900 tons to 90 tons, and 810 tons of water was saved.

ESBAŞ is popularizing xeric landscaping

ESBAŞ Executive Board Chairman Dr. Faruk Güler pointed out that water resources will decrease even more in many regions, especially in the Mediterranean basin. While various irrigation methods are being used to take precautions in agriculture, which is the largest area of ​​water use, Dr. Faruk Güler drew attention to the fact that it is possible to reduce water consumption to a minimum level in urban landscape areas, and said that all municipalities should also popularize water-friendly designs in their green areas.

Dr. Faruk Güler, who stated that there are 2.5 thousand m215 of green areas in the Aegean Free Zone, which has a total area of ​​2 million square meters, said, “As ESBAŞ Technical Affairs Landscape Unit, in accordance with the principle of effective and economical use of water in all our landscape designs and applications in the Aegean Free Zone, we designed the area on the corner of Gündüz Street as the 'Arid Landscape Park' in 2019. In the park, where a sign explaining the philosophy of the arid landscape application was placed to inform the companies in the region, we preferred plants such as succulents and cacti that are suitable for the climate conditions of the region and need little water. We also established a drip irrigation system that provides economical flow of water for irrigation. The soil surfaces outside the plants were covered with structural landscape materials such as natural gravel fractures and slag that both retain the moisture of the soil and provide aesthetic visuality, instead of plant tissues such as grass that require a lot of water.”

ESBAŞ Launched Investment Mobilization to Increase Water Efficiency

Reminding that they took action last summer because the occupancy rate in the dams supplying water to Izmir fell to the lowest levels in history and that they launched an investment campaign in 2024 to ensure that production in the Aegean Free Zone would be minimally affected by the water crisis, Dr. Faruk Güler emphasized that they have begun to implement investments that will enable the use of recycled water and rainwater harvesting.

Reminding that companies in the region also organized the 'Water Summit' last year to draw attention to the efficient use of water, Dr. Faruk Güler emphasized that they determined a road map together with industrialists to urgently implement a sustainable water management strategy in the Aegean Free Zone.

Dr. Faruk Güler stated that they implemented water-friendly applications in the newly constructed buildings in the expansion area of ​​ESBAŞ Aegean Free Zone and said, “We can collect and use rainwater in our newly constructed buildings. In our ESBAŞ Food Production Facility, which produces meals for 25 thousand people a day, we purify the water coming out of the dishwasher and turn it into irrigation water. We are about to complete our work that will reduce water consumption in this factory by half. We want the companies in our region to invest in additional tanks for rain harvesting. It is necessary to create alternatives for cooling and washing in production processes without water. We are working with the companies in our region to increase water efficiency in our region.”