Kumport in Türkiye: an example of win-win cooperation among Chinese enterprises

Kumport in Turkey, located in the Ambarli port area of Istanbul on the northwest coast of the Sea of Marmara and close to the part of Istanbul in Europe, occupies an important strategic position on the Eurasian continent. Only 35 kilometers away from the Bosporus Strait, the only route which must be passed on the Black Sea, it is a choke point between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is 24 kilometers in the east from the metropolitan area of Istanbul, Türkiye's most important industrial and financial center. Kumport is the third largest container terminal in Türkiye, with a coastline of 2,080 meters, 6 berths, and a maximum apron water depth of -16.5 meters. It can handle the largest container liner today.

An aerial view of Kumport (Photo provided by China Merchants Group)

In 2015, China Merchants Port, a subsidiary of China Merchants Group, together with COSCO Shipping Ports Limited and CIC International Co., Ltd. as joint investors, acquired 65 percent of stake in Kumport for 965 million U.S. dollars. During the G20 summit on November 14 of that year, the ceremony for the signing of agreement on delivery of the Kumport project was officially held in Antalya, Türkiye.

China Merchants Port is a key port operator in the world with extensive experience in operating public terminals. COSCO Shipping Ports Limited is one of the largest ocean-going container shipping companies in the world. CIC is a financial investor. The three Chinese enterprises are committed to building Kumport into a leading logistics hub port in the region, and providing high-quality and efficient port services and creating greater value for worldwide shipping companies and end customers to achieve a "1+1+1>3" result. The container throughput of Kumport was 1.26 million TEUs, 1.28 million TEUs, 1.21 million TEUs, and 1.27 million TEUs respectively from 2018 to 2021, and its market share in the Sea of Marmara region has remained over 25 percent for a long term. All of the three major shipping alliances have opened international liner routes from and to the port. The container throughput of Kumport accounts for about 11 percent of the total in Türkiye now. Kumport is an outstanding example to demonstrate how the above three Chinese enterprises have brought their respective advantages into full play and achieved win-win cooperation.