President Erdoğan inaugurates Turkey’s newest port

DP World Yarimca has been officially opened for business by the President of the Republic of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in the presence of senior government officials and executives of DP World.

President Erdoğan joined the opening yesterday by teleconference in the presence of the Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications of the Republic Turkey, Binali Yıldırım; Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu; Minister of Environment and Urbanisation of the Republic of Turkey, Fatma Güldemet Sarı; The Republic of Turkey and Prime Ministry and Investment and Promotion Agency, Arda Ermut and DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem.

As one of the biggest in the country, the new terminal can handle up to 1.3 million containers covering 460,000 square metres, enhancing Turkey’s connectivity with Europe and Asia and enabling trade from the heartland of its most industrialised region, Izmit Bay. 

DP World Yarimca is the first infrastructure project in Izmit Bay to be run by an international operator, and the first in the country to use remote controlled gantry cranes with automated gate operations featuring a vehicle appointment system for faster processing. It also has fast scanner x-ray machines, the first of their kind in Turkey that can scan 120 containers every hour.   

It has two main berths of 465 metres and 430 metres in length that can accommodate two vessels at the same time. Six ship-to-shore gantry cranes have been installed together with 18 electrical RTGs (Rubber Tire Gantry Cranes) used for container stacking and weighing. 

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said: “DP World Yarımca will reduce costs and increase competitiveness of industrial and trading companies located in our region.”

Mınıster of Transport, Maritime and Communications, Binali Yıldırım, thanked DP World for choosing Turkey for its investment and said that in the last 13 years the amount of foreign direct investment to the country had increased more than 10 times. He noted Turkey’s position at the centre of the world, taking only three hours to reach 56 countries with a $30 billion dollar economy between them. 

DP World Group Chairman and CEO, Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, said: “Turkey and the UAE share a unique heritage. We are bridges to the world, at the crossroads of world trade, trading nations built on a strong partnership and with a common bond – our vision. The vision of our leaders is to develop and innovate, to embrace change and to explore smarter ways of doing things. 

“Our two countries connect continents and peoples and the approach to infrastructure development of the president and the government is something we value and share, supporting economies, employment and communities. We also both host young, dynamic, well-educated and multi-cultural populations and highly developed technological infrastructure in transportation, telecommunications and energy. 

”The UAE and Dubai firmly believe in the future of Turkey as a natural bridge between both East-West and North-South axes, creating an efficient and cost-effective outlet to major markets and providing business easy access to 1.5 billion customers in Europe, Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa.  

“In 2023, the country celebrates 100 years of the republic and we are amazed by its development, making a difference for the people and the country. That’s why we are here today, to witness this latest addition to our global network of 77 marine and inland terminals cross six continents. 

“Our investment is not just in machinery and equipment – it’s about our people, our most important asset. DP World Yarimca currently employs 300 people and we aim to reach 650 jobs when at full capacity. There are over 800 jobs identified indirectly in the local economy and many more local and regional supplier opportunities. This illustrates the ripple effect of projects of this magnitude – that boost economies and prosperity for the long term.”

DP World Yarımca CEO, Nichola Silveira, said that she was proud to be leading the industry in a traditionally male dominated industry, which highlighted the equal opportunities available to everyone to take part in senior management and technical positions.  

In 2015, total trade between Turkey and Dubai was AED 25.26 billion. Imports were AED 14.6 billion, exports AED 7.9 billion and re-exports AED 2.77 billion.