Mersin International Port (MIP), which has become the largest port in Turkey with the records it has broken in a row, has allocated a budget of over 400 million dollars for the new investments it plans to implement soon.
MIP, which has grown day by day by spending 402 million dollars in 15 years, has focused on new investments as Turkey’s gateway to the Eastern Mediterranean and continues to draw attention with its strategic location, which is among the 100 largest ports in the world and continues its steady rise.
Continued to grow despite the pandemic
MIP General Manager Johan Van Daele talked about the developments so far and new investment targets. Emphasizing that 2021 is one of the most challenging years and that the coronavirus pandemic and economic distress that Turkey has been experiencing intensely in the second half of the year, are testing everyone in many ways, Van Daele said. “However, despite all these factors, we continued to work with the understanding of providing 24/7 uninterrupted service to our customers. With this vision, we managed to maintain our leading port position by growing 4.4 percent in container business volume and 19 percent in conventional business volume compared to the previous year.”
‘We are proud of the success we have achieved’
Van Daele said that as MIP, they have invested a total of 402 million dollars since 2007, with 120 million dollars of operational efficiency and 282 million dollars of capacity increase, and he stated that 755 million dollars were paid in return for operating rights in the port, the total investment cost exceeded 1.2 billion dollars.
Expressing that they have achieved an excellent annual growth rate since the privatization of the port, which has made MIP the country’s largest port in terms of container volume for the last 3 years in a row, Van Daele said, “We have reached two important milestones in the container and conventional business volüme in 2021. While breaking the 61-year historical record with a conventional business volume of 9 million tons, we broke a new record in Turkey with a container business volume of 2.1 million TEUs. As MIP, we are proud of the success we have achieved both in the container and conventional. This is a team effort and the joint success of MIP employees and stakeholders. These figures, recorded both in fluctuations in the economy and pandemic conditions, are the result of dedication and effort. We are determined to continue to use all our means to bring Mersin Port to the position it deserves.”
‘It adds strength to the economic power of Mersin and Turkey’
Emphasizing that Mersin Port has come a long way in many aspects in the last 15 years, Van Daele said that MIP has reached a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 percent as a result of the evaluations made according to certain years. Van Daele said, “The container handling volume, which was 640 thousand TEU before privatization, has exceeded 2.1 million TEU today. The record tax revenue, which has increased by 127 percent in parallel with the business volume that has increased by 130 percent since 2008, has increased over the years, adding strength to the economic power of Mersin and Turkey. MIP, the largest port in the country with an area of 124 hectares, provides regular service to 6,200 customers around the world. While it is among the 100 largest container ports in the world today, it is Turkey’s gateway to reciprocal trade with 190 countries.
‘We have a significant contribution to employment of 28 thousand people in total’
Van Daele also gave information about the port’s contribution to the economy and employment of Mersin and Turkey and said, “MIP, which provides direct employment to 3 thousand people and indirect employment to 25 thousand people and has a significant contribution to employment with a total of 28 thousand people, has a market share of 73.1 percent among Turkey’s Eastern Mediterranean ports with a total of 32 services offered. Mersin International Port has a market share of 17.1 percent among Turkish container ports and 20.5 percent in terms of import-export-transit container business volume. We continue to invest to increase the economic results of its contribution to trade. We will continue to provide value-added services to the economy of the region and the country with the capacity increase and improvement projects we plan in the short-term and long-term.”
‘We aim to allocate more than 400 million dollars to new investments’
Explaining this year’s targets and investment plans, Van Daele pointed out that the high freight rates, which have increased with the container restrictions that emerged after the pandemic since the end of last year, are effective in the trends and loading preferences. Stating that this situation caused an increase of approximately 20 percent in conventional loads and a decrease of approximately 5 percent in containers, Van Daele continued as follows: “While global freight prices are currently high and are expected to remain at high levels, they also negatively affect costs and increase risk perception, especially in Far East trade. In addition, it is possible to say that the ongoing crisis in the Black Sea has caused uncertainty in the shipments of citrus fruits grown in our region. Despite everything, MIP tries to maintain its leading position in freight volume with the high production capacity of the surrounding provinces and strong hinterland connections. In this direction, our expectation in 2022 is that the average annual load factor will be between 80-90 percent with a compound annual growth rate of 7.5 percent. These growth prospects are the most concrete indication that MIP should focus on new investments to meet the hinterland growth and provide the required service level. This increase in trade indicates that the Mersin region has grown in parallel with the port. As MIP, we aim to meet the increasing demand and support the existing potential by allocating more than 400 million dollars in total to new investments.”
‘We allocated a budget of 27 million dollars for the Kapılar Project’
Noting that the bureaucracy continues in the Kapılar Project, which is of great importance for Mersin, Van Daele said that they hope that all procedures will be completed and the construction process will begin as soon as possible. Expressing that they allocated a budget of 27 million dollars for the project, Van Daele said, “The Kapılar Project, which we, as MIP, aim to provide a definitive solution to the traffic density caused by the port in the Adana-Mersin direction from the past, will bring a more effective truck traffic management to the city. When our project becomes operational, the trucks arriving at the port will be able to connect directly to the highway without entering the city traffic. With a separate road to be opened in the Adana direction of the D-400 junction, vehicles coming to the CFS site will be able to enter the port without interrupting the railway, and this will directly accelerate the port traffic and cargo handling process.”
‘We are excited to bring the Capacity Increase Project with a budget of 375 million dollars to Mersin’
Mentioning one of his most important projects, the Mersin Port Expansion Project (EMH2), the General Manager said, “As MIP, we have fulfilled all our obligations regarding the Capacity Increase Project and we are ready. We are excited to bring the Capacity Increase Project to Mersin with an investment budget of 375 million dollars, which is of great importance for Mersin’s present and future. Thanks to the project, we will increase the current capacity of the port by 1 million TEU and provide employment opportunities for 500 people directly and 5 thousand people indirectly. When the project is completed, we will be able to serve two mega-ships at the same time and optimize the waiting times of the ships. Thus, the number of direct voyages will increase and the strategic position of Mersin Port opening to the Eastern Mediterranean will be strengthened with competitive freights with shorter transit times. Thanks to the Capacity Increase Project, which will add value to the economic development of the region, Mersin Port will be in a position to compete as a global player in the transit container trade with the terminals of other countries in the Mediterranean basin. Within the framework of the project, in addition to the EIA report, many environmental impact analyzes were carried out, such as the project’s social impact analysis, sound analysis, biodiversity impact analysis, air quality analysis, which do not have legal obligations and reflect the sensitive approach of MIP, and thus the environmental sensitivity level of the project was raised to European standards. Our project has been supported by all of our sustainability efforts and has gained the status of an Environmentally Friendly Project.”