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Invest HatayInvest Hatayby Burç Consulting

International Investment & Regional Hubs

With its historic position on the east-west trade route, investments that position Hatay not just as a place to invest, but as a regional trade hub opening onto the MENA region.

Why Invest in a Regional Hub in Hatay?

As Hatay Governorate itself highlights, the region's historic position on the east-west trade route makes it a bridge between Europe and the Middle East. İskenderun Port's position opening onto the Eastern Mediterranean and the trade gates on the Syrian border give that bridge role concrete form.

This position makes Hatay a strategic option not just as a local investment destination, but for international companies looking to position it as a Türkiye operations center, MENA regional hub, or regional production/distribution center.

An international business meeting (illustrative image)

Investable Sub-Types

The main investment types worth considering in international investment and regional hubs.

Türkiye operations center
MENA regional hub
Trade center opening to Syria
Europe-Middle East trade center
Distribution center
Regional logistics center
Export center
Joint venture / JV projects
Company formation for foreign investors
Regional production center

Opportunities worth exploring in depth:

Türkiye Operations HQ & MENA Regional Hub InvestmentCross-Border Trade & Distribution Center InvestmentFree Zone & Joint Venture (JV) InvestmentEurope-Middle East Trade Bridge InvestmentExport Trading Company InvestmentRegional Production Hub Investment

Where Can You Invest?

Districts that stand out for international investment and regional hub projects.

İskenderun

The primary district for regional production and distribution center investment, given its port connection.

Reyhanlı (Cilvegözü)

Strategic for trade center and logistics investments, close to the Syrian border gate.

Antakya

Well-suited to setting up a Türkiye operations center, given its central position and administrative infrastructure.

Erzin and Hassa OIZs

Ready industrial infrastructure for regional production center investments.

Investment Models

Different ways to bring your regional hub investment to life.

01

Foreign-Capital Company Formation

Setting up a fully authorized operating company in Türkiye to begin regional activity.

02

Liaison Office

Opening a lower-cost office at the initial stage for market research and business development.

03

Joint Venture (JV)

Partnering with a local company for direct access to market knowledge and distribution networks.

04

Distribution Agreement

Setting up a regional sales network with a local distributor, without forming your own company.

Process & Documentation

The core steps to complete before a regional hub investment.

  • Ministry of Trade notification for foreign-capital company formation
  • Tax ID and trade registry registration
  • Bank account opening and foreign exchange transfer processes
  • Customs regulation compliance, if import/export activity is involved
  • Work permit, for foreign manager/expert employment
  • Sector-specific additional licenses, if applicable

Incentives & Support

Region 6 incentives apply to production and logistics investments with regional hub status too. Türkiye's special tax arrangements for regional headquarters companies can also be considered for suitable structures.

Branch & Office Setup ConsultingBank Account & Payment Setup ConsultingTax & Financial Advisory

Local Stakeholders

The main institutions you'll be in contact with during the process.

Hatay Chamber of Commerce and Industry
Hatay Customs Directorate
İskenderun Regional Port Authority
Ministry of Trade regional directorate
Local banks
International trade consulting firms

Our Feasibility Approach

The feasibility of a regional hub investment rests on data like the size of target markets (MENA, Europe, Syria), logistics access cost, local labor and office cost, and the regulatory/customs environment.

Our feasibility work gathers this data based on your target hub type, whether an operations center, distribution, or production center.

From the official data

Port Cargo and Exports: Official Volumes

According to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Turkish ports handled 553,268,303 tonnes in 2025; the İskenderun Regional Port Authority handled 70,905,737 tonnes, third after Aliağa (89,507,150 tonnes) and Kocaeli (83,939,975 tonnes). In the Ministry of Trade's exports-by-province-of-activity table, Hatay ranked 11th in 2023 with USD 5,170 million.

IndicatorValueYearSource
İskenderun Regional Port Authority: cargo handled (tonnes)70,905,7372025[1]
Türkiye total port cargo (tonnes)553,268,3032025[1]
İskenderun's share of the national total12.8%2025[1]
Hatay exports by province of activity (USD million)5,8562022[2]
Hatay exports (USD million; annual change −11.7%)5,1702023[2]
Share of Türkiye's exports (Türkiye: USD 255,809 million)2.0%2023[2]
Hatay exports, single month (USD million; +11.9%)505 → 565Sep 2024 → Sep 2025[3]

What does this data mean for an investor?

The İskenderun Regional Port Authority handles 12.8% of the cargo moved through Turkish ports and trails only Aliağa and Kocaeli. This volume shows that Hatay remained one of the country's main cargo gateways even after the earthquake. Hatay's exports fell 11.7% in 2023 to USD 5,170 million; in September 2025 monthly exports rose +11.9% on the same month of the previous year. A single month does not prove an annual recovery; the annual 2024–2025 figures are not in this compilation.

What it means for an investor: port and export volumes are the most concrete official gauges of the scale of demand for warehousing, bonded areas, logistics centres and export-oriented production. But how much of the port tonnage is cargo produced in or destined for Hatay, as opposed to transit, cannot be separated from these data; cargo type and country breakdowns should be queried separately before investing.

Limitation: The port figure is the sum of all ports under the İskenderun Regional Port Authority and has no cargo-type or country breakdown. The export table is based on place of production (province of activity), which differs from head-office-based tables. Annual provincial exports for 2024 and 2025 (the Ministry's relevant file could not be accessed) and the sector breakdown of exports are not in this compilation; September 2025 is a single-month figure.

Pages related to this data

Sources

  1. [1] Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, port cargo-handling record announcement (2025; 31 January 2026) (data period: 2025)
  2. [2] Ministry of Trade, Exports by Province of Activity (annual table, 2022–2023) (data period: 2022–2023)
  3. [3] Ministry of Trade, Exports by Province of Activity, September 2025 (data period: September 2025)

Public Transport and Logistics Infrastructure Projects

In the 2026 Investment Programme, transport is Hatay's largest item with 21 projects and TRY 167.5 billion. The main projects are motorways, rail, the airport and port/industrial-zone links.

IndicatorValueYearSource
Dörtyol–Hassa motorway and railway (motorway 25 km, single-track rail 35.32 km)TRY 91.2 billion · 2022–20292026[1]
İskenderun–Topboğazı motorway and Antakya link road (motorway 19.2 km, twin-tube tunnel 8,675 m)TRY 33.6 billion · 2024–20292026[1]
Hatay–Osmaniye high-speed rail, double track (59 km; joint project)TRY 33.1 billion · 2026–20292026[1]
Hatay Airport runway/apron (PAT) repair (spent: TRY 14.0 billion)TRY 16.0 billion · 2023–20262026[1]
Hatay Airport buildings and apron expansionTRY 1.8 billion · 2025–20272026[1]
İskenderun OSB rail siding (4.5 km)TRY 223 million · 2020–20272026[1]
Eastern Mediterranean Customs and Foreign Trade Regional Directorate buildingTRY 384 million · 2024–20262026[1]

What does this data mean for an investor?

The two large road-rail projects (Dörtyol–Hassa TRY 91.2 billion, İskenderun–Topboğazı TRY 33.6 billion) make up more than half of the programme's transport cost. The Dörtyol–Hassa line links the coast with inland Hassa, and the İskenderun–Topboğazı line connects İskenderun towards Antakya. Their 2026 allocations are TRY 2.0 billion and TRY 4.5 billion, with completion foreseen in 2029.

The 2026 allocation for the Hatay–Osmaniye high-speed rail appears as only TRY 1,000, meaning the project is listed but its cash funding is still symbolic (interpretation). At the airport, TRY 14 billion of the TRY 16 billion runway/apron repair had been spent by the end of 2025. Together these show that logistics decisions should separate “advanced” from “planned” infrastructure.

What it means for an investor: for warehouse, customs, cold-chain and distribution investments, access conditions will change between 2027 and 2029. A decision today should be based on existing roads, with new links modelled separately as potential upside.

Limitation: Completion years are programme projections and may slip. This source covers public projects only; port cargo tonnage, border-gate crossings and private logistics investments are not included and should be tracked in separate official sources (Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Ministry of Trade, DHMİ).

Pages related to this data

Sources

  1. [1] Hatay Governorship Provincial Planning and Coordination Directorate, Hatay 2026 Investment Programme (data period: 2026)

Figures come from official sources; interpretations are Invest Hatay's own and are not investment advice.

Frequently asked questions about regional hub investment

Proximity to the Syrian border and İskenderun Port lowers access cost to MENA markets, while office and operating costs are noticeably lower than in Istanbul.

Related Investment Areas

Logistics & Trade InvestmentsIndustry & Manufacturing Investments

Let's define your regional hub investment idea together

Tell us your target markets, hub type and timeline, and we'll map out a plan built for you.

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