Mehmet İlker Akdeniz spoke to the Economist Magazine
Press / October 2021
The construction sector, which is changing almost every region of the world, continues to develop according to the needs of technology. Quality materials and good craftsmanship are no longer enough; buildings that use technological systems, save energy, respect nature and are resistant to natural disasters are preferred. Special structures of primary importance that will enable society to maintain its needs even in extraordinary situations requiring emergencies, which we call critical facilities, are preferred in many sectors from public services to the communication sector, from data centers to the transportation sector.
Mehmet İlker Akdeniz, General Manager of Serban, which constructs critical facilities for various private and public institutions such as the critical facility for Roketsan, engineering and technology buildings for Akkuyu NPP, and the ballistic laboratory for CES Advanced Technology and Defense Industry, stated that critical facilities are structures of utmost importance and precision, necessitated by new-generation technologies that cannot tolerate errors.
Mehmet İlker Akdeniz, General Manager of Serban, which constructs critical facilities for various private and public institutions such as the critical facility for Roketsan, engineering and technology buildings for Akkuyu NPP, and the ballistic laboratory for CES Advanced Technology and Defense Industry, stated that critical facilities are structures of utmost importance and precision, necessitated by new-generation technologies that cannot tolerate errors. Akdeniz noted that the high sensitivity to risk and error in these facilities necessitates that construction companies integrate multiple dynamics and work much more professionally. "In projects requiring high-level security control, all teams working on such projects need to be selected through special security investigations and must meet specific job criteria. At Serban, while specializing in critical facilities, we paid close attention to team selection and ensured they fit the scope of the projects we targeted. We acquired certifications confirming that we provide services at global standards and aimed to deliver the best service with the latest technology. We worked on efficient structures that meet not only today's needs but also those of tomorrow, and we brought these structures to life as solution partners of many significant institutions in Turkey," he said.
In addition to critical facilities, Akdeniz highlighted that the rapidly increasing number of data centers is setting new rules in the industrial construction field. He continued:
"Data centers, which provide essential services such as data storage, backup, recovery, data, and network management, must be structures with high security and adaptable to many variables beyond standard industrial buildings. The selection of the site for a data center, the technologies used in its construction, the cooling systems within it, and energy management are all special dynamics involved. A potential technical or structural error can lead to data loss, system errors, and interruptions, causing significant financial losses for companies. Additionally, it can result in irreparable damage to corporate image and trust. As Serban, we are the strongest company in the country in the field of data center construction, offering all services in the planning, construction, inspection, and commissioning stages. Leveraging the strength of our group companies under Açık Holding, we provide services under one roof in this area. We recently completed the construction of the Turkcell Europe Data Center, which stands out as the most important and technological data center in Turkey."