Plans that have been under discussion since 1999 to move a rundown but still active shipyard facility inside Fethiye, in Mugla province to the Ciftlik region of the province is finally becoming a reality, now that the bureaucratic and legal procedures concerning it are complete, officials in Fethiye note.
A yacht docking and building yard inside Fethiye will finally be moved to the Ciftlik area, where a new and modern facility will be constructed. This has been possible thanks to a bureaucratic order taken for the “common good,” after debates that went on for 14 years about the fate of the yard.
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Mugla Deputy Ali Boga, speaking on the project, said the Fethiye Boat Manufacturing and Docking Facility will be moved to Karaot, in Ciftlik. Boga said he had spoken to Former Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Binali Yıldırım, who facilitated allotting land in Karaot for the facility to move. “Fethiye will finally have a modern yacht production facility, and the old location of the facility, which is within the town’s limits, will be used for more important projects.”
Specs of the new yard
Çiftlik Mayor Halil Doğan said the new facility will be constructed on a 150-hectare land plot; large enough for 35 companies to be in service at the same time. He also said that the new yard will be constructed at a distance of 400 meters from the coastline. The mayor said yachts and boats will be brought to the yard through waterways, which will be the slightly enlarged versions of currently existing river canals. “We will also construct social facilities and commercial areas on the facility grounds.” He said the project was going to be environmentally conscious.
The Fethiye Chamber of Commerce and Industry is also of the opinion that moving the facility will contribute greatly to the region’s boat manufacturing industry. According to a report published earlier by the chamber, in its current place, investors visiting the site simply do not want to order any boats at the yard, as the facility is in poor condition. “If the yard doesn’t move to Karaot, it is impossible for the sector to develop or go any distance,” the chamber had said in that report.
