TVF İzmir Limanı, the Türkiye Wealth Fund (TVF) company that owns the Port of İzmir in Turkey, plans a two-phase $1.5 billion modernisation of the port's cargo side, with dredging due to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
Executive board member Erhan Yelkenci told Anadolu Agency that the dredging is intended to allow 400-metre ships to enter the port and should take about two years.
Onurhan Kadıoğlu, business development director at cargo terminal operator Alport, said the approach channel would be deepened to 17 metres.
Yelkenci said the four-year first phase would transform the cruise and cargo quays without interrupting port operations. The second phase would progress according to cargo volumes and be completed over a 10-year period.
A cruise berth with structural problems will close in early 2027 on safety grounds. It is to be renewed over two years, with the aim of receiving cruise ships again in 2029.
Kadıoğlu said Alport aimed to raise annual handling capacity from one million TEU to 1.6 million TEU after dredging.
The programme's final target is three million TEU of containers and 10 million tonnes of other cargo.
Operations were handed over from the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) on August 1, 2026. Ownership and investment responsibility remain with TVF, while Alport runs daily commercial cargo operations.