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E-Commerce Logistics Center Investment

Growing regional e-commerce demand and existing carriers' limited distribution capacity in Hatay create a real opening for a regional e-commerce logistics/fulfillment center.

Packaging area inside an e-commerce distribution center

Türkiye's overall growth in e-commerce volume is increasing the need for local fulfillment centers, storage, packaging, last-mile delivery, that directly affect regional delivery speed. In a region like Hatay, far from the major İstanbul/Ankara/İzmir distribution hubs, an e-commerce logistics center can shorten delivery times, serving both local sellers and national e-commerce platforms.

What Project Types Are Worth Considering?

  • Regional fulfillment center (storage + packaging + last-mile)
  • E-commerce logistics service for local producers
  • Cross-docking center (fast-transfer focused)
  • Regional distribution partnership with national carriers

Which Areas Should You Consider?

Antakya, given its central location and road access, is the primary location for regional distribution. İskenderun offers a separate advantage for integrating port-linked goods into the e-commerce channel.

Licensing and Permit Process

  • Trade registry filing and tax ID
  • Transport operator license (K1/K2-type, depending on activity)
  • Zoning status compliance for storage/logistics use
  • Business opening and operating license

Incentives and Support

Region 6 incentives apply to logistics center investments as well; the Ministry of Trade's e-export support programs are also worth evaluating in the context of guiding local producers toward e-export.

See our Investment Incentive Consulting service

What to Keep in Mind

An e-commerce logistics center's profitability depends heavily on volume, so building a large-scale facility without at least one or two anchor clients (a local producer or national platform) secured first can be risky.

Sources

From the official data

Hatay Airport: Passenger and Cargo Traffic

According to DHMİ data, Hatay Airport served 288,706 passengers in 2024 and 506,499 in 2025 (+75.4%). In the first eight months of 2026 (provisional data) passenger numbers reached 729,935, +237.3% on the 216,390 of the same period in 2025.

IndicatorValueYearSource
Passengers (domestic + international)288,7062024[1]
Passengers: total · domestic · international506,499 · 478,185 · 28,3142025[1]
Passengers, January–August216,3902025[1]
Passengers, January–August: total · domestic · international (provisional)729,935 · 634,067 · 95,8682026[1]
Aircraft movements2,509 → 3,9072024 → 2025[1]
Aircraft movements, January–August1,882 → 4,8322025 → 2026[1]
Load (baggage + cargo + mail, tonnes)2,701.5 → 5,082.72024 → 2025[1]
Of which cargo (tonnes)19.0 → 48.72024 → 2025[1]

What does this data mean for an investor?

Passengers in the first eight months of 2026 equal 144% of all of 2025: the airport passed the previous year's total in under a year. International passengers were zero at the end of August 2025, 5,245 by the end of September and 28,314 at year-end; in 2026 they reached 95,868 in eight months. The cumulative figures for July and August 2025 are identical (216,390): there are no recorded passengers in August 2025. DHMİ's table does not give the reason; the programme contains runway and apron repair items (TRY 16 billion, 2023–2026), but no causal link between the two is drawn here.

The load item (5,082.7 tonnes) combines baggage, cargo and mail; in 2025 only 48.7 tonnes of it were cargo (1.0%). The airport is thus passenger-driven today; for air-cargo investments (cold chain, e-commerce distribution) current volumes are very low and demand cannot be inferred from these data.

What it means for an investor: the rapid recovery in passenger numbers points to demand being rebuilt for tourism and business-travel services such as hotels, restaurants, car rental and transfers (interpretation). But the data do not say whether passengers are tourists, business travellers or visitors, or how many nights they stay; accommodation investments need a separate demand study.

Limitation: The 2026 figures are DHMİ's “provisional” data and may change. Passenger numbers count arrivals plus departures (one traveller counts twice). Purpose of visit, length of stay and spending are not in this source. No comparison with 2023 or earlier (pre-earthquake) is made here.

Pages related to this data

Sources

  1. [1] DHMİ (State Airports Authority), Airport Statistics: end-December 2025 and end-August 2026 (provisional) tables (data period: 2024–2026)
  2. [2] Hatay Governorship Provincial Planning and Coordination Directorate, Hatay 2026 Investment Programme (data period: 2026)

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)

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

Frequently asked questions about e-commerce logistics center investment

Through regional distribution partnership agreements; we help you build these connections.

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