Turkiye: Asyaport-01
Case Tracker
Complaint Overview
A resident of the Barbaros village, which is located approximately 3 km from the port.
Damage to the neighboring beaches, loss of fish in the area affecting the fisherman’s livelihood, safety concerns of community, working conditions of labor at the port.
Project Information
In 2013, IFC committed a 10-year $75 million USD A loan along with its co-financiers, EBRD and IsBank, for greenfield construction of the Terminal. Asyaport has been operational since July 2015. In 2019, the Asyaport Extension project committed a further investment of up to $12 million A loan.
Synopsis
Asya Port Liman Isletmeleri A.S. (“Asyaport”) developed a greenfield container terminal on the Marmara Sea near the city of Barbaros, Tekirdag Province, Turkey. Asyaport began operations in July 2015. The Terminal acts as a transshipment hub for containers destined for the Black Sea via the Bosphorus and has Mediterranean Shipping Company, the world’s second-largest shipping line, as an anchor customer.
The complainant alleges that (i) the construction of the port has had detrimental environment impact including the fish that have been killed in the area and beaches that have been ‘destroyed’; (ii) children and the community are in danger because of the stacked presence of containers in the streets, which create unsafe neighborhood environment; (iii) the labor undergo dangerous working conditions of the at the port.
In June 2023, CAO found the complaint eligible for assessment. The assessment process is now ongoing.
The case is currently under assessment.
*Note: The CAO assessment process does not entail a judgment on the merits of the complaint, rather, it seeks to understand the facts and empower those involved to make informed decisions on how to address the issues raised.
Status as of Sep 14, 2023