Limak wins 36-year rights to local İskenderun Port

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

This photo from a ceremony yesterday shows Limak’s $327 million check for the rights to the İskenderun Port. Three Turkish ministers were present at the ceremony.

Turkey’s Limak Holding has paid $327 million to the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) for the 36-year rights to the İskenderun Port in the southern province of Hatay.

Revenue from the sale will go toward the construction of rail lines, according to the TCDD.

Transportation Minister Binalı Yıldırım, who attended the transfer ceremony, told reporters this was not a privatization but a transfer of management rights for 36 years.

Limak will also invest an additional $250 million toward the port and employ 250 local employees, increasing the port’s container capacity to 400,000 in the short-term and 1 million in the longer-term, according to Anatolia news agency.

“This $250 million is an important investment for Turkey because our ports have a scale problem. The larger the scale, the more competition, so I congratulate the Limak Group,” said Finance Minister Mehmet Şimsek, who also attended the transfer ceremony.

Meanwhile, speaking at the ceremony, Limak Board of Director President Nihat Özdemir said Limak planned to make the İskenderun Port Turkey’s leading port, reiterating the company’s commitment to investing $250 million over a five-year period. He added the port, with its strategic location, would strengthen the region’s economy and be an important conduit for trade with Syria and Iraq.