Singapore: PSA International and Akfen Holding's joint venture - Mersin International Port Management (MIP) has been granted the full operational rights to Mersin Port by the Turkish Privatisation Authority and the Turkish National Railways Authority (which previously owned the port). The $75m agreement is the first ever privitasation of a Turkish port and will see MIP operate the Mersin for a 36-year term till year 2043.
PSA ceo Eddie Teh said: "For PSA, our investment in Mersin International Port is our third single largest investment outside of Singapore, and this demonstrates our strong confidence in the country. Turkey is a big and strategically important country that stands at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, which serves as a crucial energy route into Europe, and is the source of much of the water in the Middle East. "
"Mersin's location on the East Mediterranean makes it well placed to tap the booming growth in trade between and within Asia, Middle East and Europe and enhance Turkey's growing importance to the economies of this region," he added.
MIP will provide container (transport), ro-ro, general cargo, warehousing and maritime services for the port, which saw transaction volume of about 17m tons in 2006. [16/0/07]
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