Firms in Turkey’s Antalya launch 21 luxury yachts in 7 months
Companies in the Antalya Free Zone situated along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast manufactured and launched a total of 21 luxury yachts in the first seven months of this year, placing the region as the country’s leading center for yacht production and as a major player in exports.
Luxury yachts from 10 meters to 90 meters (33 feet to 295 feet) are produced in the region with the design and labor of Turkish engineers and employees.
Some 48 yacht companies operate in the free zone, 21 of which are backed by foreign capital. 95% of the produced yachts are sold abroad.
Companies operating in the region, which has become a global brand in the field, receive yacht orders from dozens of countries, from Italy to the U.K., and from the U.S. to Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The recent investment in a ship lift with a lifting capacity of 2,000 tons and a crane with a lifting capacity of 560 tons, which came into service in the province, has further increased the attractiveness of the region. Besides, the demand for luxury yachts also boomed with the COVID-19 pandemic as the world’s rich turned to isolated holidays away from the crowd during the outbreak.
Zeki Gürses, General Manager of Antalya Free Zone Founder and Operator AŞ (ASBAŞ), told Anadolu Agency (AA) that during the pandemic, production in the region had never halted and that it in fact had increased compared to previous years.
Stating that the necessary precautions were taken during the pandemic and that the luxury yacht order negotiations continued, Gürses said, “Despite the pandemic process, activity continues in our region. Our boat embarkation and disembarkation operations continue. We have observed a further increase in the order negotiations with the quay investments.”
He said that the added value that the yacht sector provides to the country will gain even more momentum in the coming periods.
Yacht construction activities started in the Antalya Free Zone in 2000, and only three yachts were produced in the first year while the production continued to increase in the following years.
Stating that the sector gained momentum in the region in a short time, Gürses stated that with 21 yachts delivered as of July this year, the number of yachts launched in 21 years has reached 500.
The sales value of 500 yachts of different sizes produced in the region is approximately $1.3 billion, according to Gürses.
Gürses, who said that the local companies sell their products all over the world, emphasized that Italy and the Netherlands are the leading countries in the yacht sector while Turkey is currently in third place.
“We have no shortcomings in terms of labor, quality and infrastructure,” he said.
Gürses stated that the development of the sector also affected employment positively and that some 2,500 people are employed in the yacht sector in the Free Zone.
The sector representative said that the overall exports in Antalya Free Zone, which operates in the medical, electrical-electronics, machinery, construction, textile, chemistry and mining sectors apart from yachts, also increased despite the pandemic conditions that affected world trade.
The region has recorded a 14% increase in the trade volume compared to the same period of the previous year in the 7-month period, he said.
“The trade volume, which was $483 million in the period of Jan-July last year, reached $551 million in the same period this year,” he noted.
Stating that there has been a 6% increase in employment in the region, Gürses added that the number of employees in all sectors has now reached 5,500.
Source : Daily Sabah
