How long does coastal area allocation take?

The permit process under the Coastal Law varies by facility size and EIA requirements; we track the process on your behalf from the start.

Can a foreign investor operate a marina?

Yes, by completing the relevant permit and licensing processes. We manage the process from company formation to the operating permit.

Maritime, Port & Marina Investments

With the Madenli Marina's capacity expansion on the 2026 agenda, Hatay offers growing opportunity across marinas, boat maintenance and marine tourism.

Why Invest in Maritime in Hatay?

Facilities under the İskenderun Regional Port Authority handled 70.9 million tons of cargo in 2025, making it Türkiye's 3rd-busiest port, a scale that creates a strong demand base for maritime logistics and boat maintenance services. Expanding the Madenli Marina's capacity is also on the 2026 investment agenda.

Tourism potential along the Mediterranean coast and the Arsuz-Samandağ corridor sets marina and water-sports-center investments apart as a tourism-facing opportunity, distinct from commercial port operations.

Boats moored in a marina at sunset (illustrative image)

Investable Sub-Types

The main investment types worth considering in maritime, port and marina.

Marina

Yacht harbor

Boat maintenance center

Maritime logistics center

Fishing facility

Water sports center

Cruise tourism

Coastal tourism

Seafood processing

Marina hotel / residence

Opportunities worth exploring in depth:

Madenli Marina Investment Boat Maintenance & Maritime Logistics Seafood Processing Facility Investment Water Sports & Cruise Tourism Investment Marina Hotel / Residence Investment Coastal Tourism Development Investment

Where Can You Invest?

Districts that stand out for maritime and marina investment.

Madenli (Arsuz)

Around the existing yacht harbor, where capacity expansion work is underway.

İskenderun

The primary district for maritime logistics investment, given its proximity to commercial port infrastructure.

Samandağ

Hatay's longest coastline; suited to water sports centers and coastal tourism.

Arsuz

A high-tourism-potential coastal area for marina hotel and residence concepts.

Investment Models

Different ways to bring your maritime investment to life.

Direct Facility Establishment

Obtaining coastal area allocation to build a marina or boat maintenance facility.

Taking Over Operating Rights

Taking over the operating rights of an existing marina or port facility.

Joint Venture (JV)

Partnering with a local maritime operator to leverage operating experience.

Lease

Leasing coastal infrastructure or facility space long-term for a lower capital start.

Licensing & Permit Process

The core steps to complete before setting up a maritime/marina facility.

Coastal area use permit under the Coastal Law
Port/marina operating permit from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process
Naval and coast guard approvals (as applicable by area)
Tourism operation certificate (for a marina hotel)
Business opening and operating license

Incentives & Support

Region 6 incentives apply to maritime and marina investments too. Projects with a tourism component (marina hotel, water sports center) can also access the Ministry of Culture and Tourism's tourism incentive mechanisms.

Investment Incentive Consulting Tourism Investment Consulting

Local Stakeholders

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

İskenderun Regional Port Authority

Provincial Directorate of Transport and Infrastructure

Hatay Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism

Coast guard and port authority units

Local maritime operators

Environmental consulting firms

Our Feasibility Approach

The feasibility of a maritime investment rests on data like boat/yacht traffic density in the region, existing marina capacity and occupancy, the coastal-area allocation process, and investment cost.

Our feasibility work gathers this data based on whether you're targeting commercial port service or a tourism-focused marina.

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.

Indicator	Value	Year	Source
İskenderun Regional Port Authority: cargo handled (tonnes)	70,905,737	2025	[1]
Türkiye total port cargo (tonnes)	553,268,303	2025	[1]
İskenderun's share of the national total	12.8%	2025	[1]
Hatay exports by province of activity (USD million)	5,856	2022	[2]
Hatay exports (USD million; annual change −11.7%)	5,170	2023	[2]
Share of Türkiye's exports (Türkiye: USD 255,809 million)	2.0%	2023	[2]
Hatay exports, single month (USD million; +11.9%)	505 → 565	Sep 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

Coast, Marina and Aquaculture: Official Records

The 2026 Investment Programme includes TRY 419 million for the Madenli Yacht Harbour and Water Sports Centre (2024–2028) and TRY 147 million for the İskenderun Regional Port Authority building. According to the Directorate of Agriculture and Forestry's 2025 report, 17 aquaculture businesses produced 9,116 tonnes, of which 8,977.5 tonnes were sea-bream and sea-bass in sea cages.

Indicator	Value	Year	Source
Madenli Yacht Harbour and Water Sports Centre (project cost; spent: TRY 143.7 million)	TRY 419 million	2026	[1]
Aquaculture: number of businesses	17	2025	[2]
Total farmed output (tonnes; plus 580,000 aquarium fish)	9,116	2025	[2]
Sea-cage sea-bream and sea-bass: 4 businesses, output (tonnes)	8,977.5	2025	[2]
Cage design capacity / actual capacity (tonnes/year)	16,000 / 10,300	2025	[2]
Marine wild catch (tonnes)	5,956.7	2025	[2]

What does this data mean for an investor?

Cage output (8,977.5 tonnes) is 56% of design capacity (16,000 tonnes) and 87% of actual capacity (10,300 tonnes). The gap points to room for existing farms to raise output without new capacity, although what limits this (permits, feed, markets) cannot be read from the data. Read together with 5,956.7 tonnes of wild marine catch, it shows a raw-material base for seafood processing; processing capacity and price data are not in this source.

What it means for an investor: for marina and coastal tourism projects, public investment (Madenli) supplies an infrastructure base; in aquaculture the number of businesses is small (17), so the sector is small-scale and, for a new entrant, licences, leased sea area and market access are the first things to check.

Limitation: Aquaculture figures come from the provincial directorate's 2025 activity report and rest on administrative records. The marina project's completion date is a programme projection. Visitor, boat, berth or port-handling figures are not included in this compilation.

Pages related to this data

Sources

Coast and Maritime: The Development Agency's 2025 Findings

According to DOĞAKA's 2025 Activity Report, the Madenli Yacht Harbour entered service with the agency's support; under the 2025 CMDP, a capacity-increase and tourism-diversification project for the harbour and the Hatay Surf Centre project were approved. The report also states that “there is no boat/yacht maintenance and repair centre in the region”.

Indicator	Value	Year	Source
Madenli Yacht Harbour Capacity Increase and Tourism Diversification Project (target: 2 seafood-gastronomy restaurants)	Approved in 2025 CMDP; support contract signed	2025	[1]
Hatay Surf Centre	Approved in 2025 CMDP; completion target April 2026	2025	[1]
Samandağ Surf School: earthquake-affected young people trained	1,032	2025	[1]
Boat/yacht maintenance and repair centre (in the region)	None exists (report finding)	2025	[1]
İskenderun Waterfront Improvement (coordinated by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change)	Under way; part of the agency's “Blue Hatay” vision	2025	[1]

What does this data mean for an investor?

This table is not demand data but a public body's inventory finding: the absence of a ready boat-maintenance and repair centre in the region is an institutionally recognised gap for marina and boat-maintenance investment. But a “no centre” finding does not show that demand is sufficient; berth numbers, boat numbers and visiting-yacht numbers are not in this source. Public and agency investment at Madenli (see the public investment programme block) builds the infrastructure base; the operating model and occupancy have to be tested by the investor (interpretation).

Limitation: The source is the development agency's own statement about its activities; project completion dates are targets and may slip. The sentence “no centre exists” reflects the period in which the 2025 report was written; whether a private facility has opened since should be checked separately.