Mediterraneans largest shipyard on course

The Besiktaž Shipping Group, a leading company in the Turkish maritime industry, will soon complete preparations and begin constructing a shipbuilding facility in the Adana-Yumurtal?k Free Trade Zone. Once completed, the shipyard will be the largest of its kind in the Mediterranean. ?hsan Kalkavan, the owner and chairman of the Bežiktaž group and a former manager of the Bežiktaž Soccer Club, said his company began preparations eight months ago after obtaining a license to build a shipyard in the region. It then rented 300,000 m2 of land and applied for an Environmental Impact Report (?ED).

Kalkavan said he estimates the ?ED will be ready by the first week of January. He said construction will likely start by February or March. The shipyard will occupy 100,000 m2 of land and will also have two dry docks, one of which will be 400 metres long and 70 metres wide while the other will be 350 metres long and 70 metres wide. The yard will be capable of handling VLCCs exceeding 300 metres in length that need repairs. “The shipyard will even be able to handle aircraft carriers,” Kalkavan noted, adding that it will have the capacity to repair 100 ships (400,000 dwt) annually. Construction is scheduled for completion in three years and will likely cost $100 million and is expected to employ 3,000 persons.