Mega-mall in east defies a recession
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by Sevim Songün
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 14, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - A small province in eastern Turkey, languishing in a regional desert of underdevelopment, will witness the sprouting of an investment oasis, at least according to the chairman of a project to build a 130 million-lira entertainment complex
The lack of investment in Turkey’s East has always been a serious problem, but the huge entertainment complex Misland being built in the province of Elazığ is proof that if there is a will, there is a way.
The project is the largest ever in the region, especially as far as the entertainment industry is concerned, with 41 million Turkish Liras already spent and a total cost projection of 127 million liras expected.
The question everyone is now asking is whether the complex will be a profitable investment or if it is destined to be another project based on good intentions but little else. The head of the project is confident that it will be profitable. "Even if no one comes from outside the city, I know the residents of Elazığ will flock here. Then they will ask me why I did not built a larger parking lot," said Nihat Demirbağ, chairman of the board of directors of Mis Holding.
The whole project will be completed in three steps. The first step, including a mall, Aqua Park, congress hall, amphitheatre, and an Ottoman-style restaurant, was opened in June 2007. The project covers 150,000 square meters and employs 12 architects and around 300 construction workers.
"We spent 41 million liras so far and now we have suspended construction for a year," Demirbağ said. "The already completed sections of the complex need only to cover its own expenses, after which the other sections will be built," he added. There will be a theme park, a zoo, a bazaar, a sports complex and dormitories for students in the next steps. The second step is scheduled to finish within five years.
The investment is mostly criticized as one of the "crazy" or "destined to go bankrupt" businesses, for the demand in the region is not big enough to compensate even the costs, some say.
Yet Demirbağ laughs away the critics. "Once, a chief of police came and told me that he and all the higher administrators in Elazığ thought I was mad. And then he asked for a blessing when he was posted elsewhere and congratulated me for continuing this project despite the critics," said Demirbağ. It is certain Demirbağ has shown courage in undertaking such a risky business like investing in entertainment in a small province in eastern Anatolia, but he has a personal explanation for his courage and success.
"I was selling simit in the morning and dying shoes after school when I was 6. When I was 11, my father was giving his salary to me to pay our debt to the shopkeepers. His trust in me made me a brave person," he said. Although Demirbağ is the founder and chairman of Mis Holding, the company has 905 shareholders today, all from Elazığ. The company first started with 36 people in 1989 in the food industry. Misaş shops have become widespread in the city with 41 stores. Shareholders have been backing the Misland project since the beginning, Demirbağ said.
"The biggest share holders have only 2 percent of the shares. Most of our shareholders are from the middle and lower-middle classes. Most of them have never seen a five-star hotel or an entertainment center in their life," he said. He sent 500 of his shareholders at the time to five-star hotels for vacations with their spouses. Then he shared his idea of Misland with them and asked for their patience.
"We have a relation based on trust. I asked them to stay with me to the very end. Misland will be finished sooner or later and it will be profiting more than anyone can imagine," said Demirbağ. The first month after the first sections opened, 100,000 people visited Misland. Today, there are approximately 200,000 people visiting a month, according to Demirbağ. People are already coming from neighboring cities such as Malatya, Tunceli and Bingöl. Ege Cansen, a columnist for daily Hürriyet said if there was nothing going on behind the scenes, the only thing one could do was to congratulate the entrepreneurs.
The project is the largest ever in the region, especially as far as the entertainment industry is concerned, with 41 million Turkish Liras already spent and a total cost projection of 127 million liras expected.
The question everyone is now asking is whether the complex will be a profitable investment or if it is destined to be another project based on good intentions but little else. The head of the project is confident that it will be profitable. "Even if no one comes from outside the city, I know the residents of Elazığ will flock here. Then they will ask me why I did not built a larger parking lot," said Nihat Demirbağ, chairman of the board of directors of Mis Holding.
The whole project will be completed in three steps. The first step, including a mall, Aqua Park, congress hall, amphitheatre, and an Ottoman-style restaurant, was opened in June 2007. The project covers 150,000 square meters and employs 12 architects and around 300 construction workers.
"We spent 41 million liras so far and now we have suspended construction for a year," Demirbağ said. "The already completed sections of the complex need only to cover its own expenses, after which the other sections will be built," he added. There will be a theme park, a zoo, a bazaar, a sports complex and dormitories for students in the next steps. The second step is scheduled to finish within five years.
The investment is mostly criticized as one of the "crazy" or "destined to go bankrupt" businesses, for the demand in the region is not big enough to compensate even the costs, some say.
Yet Demirbağ laughs away the critics. "Once, a chief of police came and told me that he and all the higher administrators in Elazığ thought I was mad. And then he asked for a blessing when he was posted elsewhere and congratulated me for continuing this project despite the critics," said Demirbağ. It is certain Demirbağ has shown courage in undertaking such a risky business like investing in entertainment in a small province in eastern Anatolia, but he has a personal explanation for his courage and success.
"I was selling simit in the morning and dying shoes after school when I was 6. When I was 11, my father was giving his salary to me to pay our debt to the shopkeepers. His trust in me made me a brave person," he said. Although Demirbağ is the founder and chairman of Mis Holding, the company has 905 shareholders today, all from Elazığ. The company first started with 36 people in 1989 in the food industry. Misaş shops have become widespread in the city with 41 stores. Shareholders have been backing the Misland project since the beginning, Demirbağ said.
"The biggest share holders have only 2 percent of the shares. Most of our shareholders are from the middle and lower-middle classes. Most of them have never seen a five-star hotel or an entertainment center in their life," he said. He sent 500 of his shareholders at the time to five-star hotels for vacations with their spouses. Then he shared his idea of Misland with them and asked for their patience.
"We have a relation based on trust. I asked them to stay with me to the very end. Misland will be finished sooner or later and it will be profiting more than anyone can imagine," said Demirbağ. The first month after the first sections opened, 100,000 people visited Misland. Today, there are approximately 200,000 people visiting a month, according to Demirbağ. People are already coming from neighboring cities such as Malatya, Tunceli and Bingöl. Ege Cansen, a columnist for daily Hürriyet said if there was nothing going on behind the scenes, the only thing one could do was to congratulate the entrepreneurs.