Turkish Firm to Set Up CBRN Detection Kits Plant with Govt Aid

Turkey's Nero Industries will set up a new 12,000-square-meter facility in Ankara to produce chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) detection kits under a $230 million project partially funded by the government.

Financial assistance will be provided during the first six years after the start date of the project. The firm will face sanctions if delays occur although funding will be extended for three more years, according to a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on Tuesday.

The firm will get customs tax and VAT exemptions, other tax deductions, 10-year support for employer’s share of insurance premiums, 10-year income tax withholding, a maximum of $5.4 million worth of energy support and several other financial aids.

Once finished, the new facility is expected to produce over 100 million sensors, 5,500 laser detection systems, 3,000 CBRN detection and filtration systems, and 32,000 fire suppression systems annually.

The CBRN systems could be used for military and civilian purposes to detect and signal against mass destruction and biological weapons, industrial accidents and leakage. The system also provides filtered clean air to the environment by absorbing CBRN contaminants in an overpressure citadel, the company said.

The company has a large production and R&D facility in Istanbul and a production plant in Turkey's northwestern Sakarya province.