New ship repair yard in Adana

The Bežiktaž Maritime Group has started the preliminary work for the construction of a shipyard on a 320,000 square meter plot in the southern city of Adana in Turkey.

Yavuz Kalkavan, assistant CEO of the Bežiktaž Maritime Group, said that some 100 ships would be able to dock at the shipyard for repair and maintenance and that it would also be possible to handle aircraft carriers. He said they had already received the permission necessary for the project and that a rental agreement would be completed soon.

The company will rent the 320,000m2 space in the Yumurtal?k Free Zone of Adana and build two docks, one of 400 x 70 metres and another of 350 x 70 metres. The primary function of the shipyard will be the repair and maintenance of VLCCs of 300 to 400 metres in length, he noted. “We are targeting the annual maintenance of 100 ships with 400,000 deadweight tonnage.”

He said the cost of building the shipyard was estimated at $100 million and his company would be using its own equity capital and would not be relying on any loans. “We plan to lay the first stone toward the end of this year and the construction would be completed in three years” he said. Kalkavan stated his belief that the investment would revitalize the economy of the region, saying he hoped the shipyard would create jobs for as many as 3,000 people. He added that the company is still searching additional land of nearly 30,000m2 to build facilities for the staff who will be employed at the docks.