DP World Yarimca has officially opened for business. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, president of Turkey, opened the facility by teleconference in the presence of senior government officials and executives of DP World.
Erdogan joined the opening on Friday in the presence of several Turkish ministers and DP World group chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.
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.
Erdogan said, “DP World Yarimca will reduce costs and increase competitiveness of industrial and trading companies located in our region.”
Binali Yildirim, minister of transport, maritime and communications, 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.
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 Yarimca CEO Nichola Silveira said 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 Dh25.26 billion. Imports were Dh14.6 billion, exports Dh7.9 billion and re-exports Dh2.77 billion.
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