Rise in armored water cannon, police carrier acquisitions pads national budget

Ankara, Sep 23 () - The Finance Ministry has announced a dramatic rise in vehicle acquisitions by the public sector in the first eight months of the year was mainly caused by a rise in the acquisitions of armored water cannons, armored carriers and helicopters by police forces due to escalating violence in the country in a written statement upon a daily Hürriyet report this week.

While around 59.8 million Turkish Liras worth of cars were bought for the public sector in the first eight months of 2014, this figure rose to 628.5 million liras in the same period this year, an increase of more than 10-fold, according to the daily Hürriyet report.

“With accelerating moves to fight terrorism this year, some spending, which had earlier been scheduled to be made at the end of the year, has been rescheduled to earlier dates” said the statement.

“In this vein, there has been an increase in vehicle acquisitions by the National Police General Directorate. While around 900,000 liras worth of aerial vehicles were bought by the police forces in the first eight months of 2014, this figure rose to 76.9 million liras in the same period of this year due to the rise in helicopter acquisitions. Besides, while around 34 million liras worth armored water cannons, dubbed TOMAs in Turkish, armored personnel carriers and other vehicles in the first eight months of 2014, this figure increased to 207 million liras in the same period of 2015” added the statement.

Another significant rise was seen in acquisitions of aerial vehicles by the General Forestry Directorate through the Fund to Support Defense Industries. While 15.6 million liras worth of aerial vehicles were bought by this unit in the first eight months of 2014, this increased to 296 million liras in the same period this year, according to the statement.

“These aerial vehicles were purchased to strengthen the aerial vehicle fleet of the General Forestry Directorate in the fight with forest fires in Turkey, meeting a crucial need” said the statement.

In exception of these two units, there was no dramatic rise in the vehicle acquisitions of any units in the public sector in the first eight months of the year, read the statement.