Turkey’s Global Ports Holding (GPH) on 14 April signed a concession agreement for Crotone port in southern Italy.
The agreement is a four-year concession to manage the services for cruise passengers. The client is Autorità di Sistema Portuale dei Mari Tirreno Meridionale e Ionio (AdSP–Southern Tyrrhenian and Ionian Seas). Crotone is located in the Calabria region of southern Italy.
In a statement about the development, GPH said it will use its global expertise and operating model to manage the cruise port operations in Crotone. “As part of the concession, GPH will invest in improving systems, equipment and technology to improve the operational performance of the cruise port and to ensure environmental protections and safety and security programs” it said.
The company further noted: “With the addition of Crotone Cruise Port, we strengthen our presence in Italy, as well as in the Med. The beautiful city of Crotone, with its strategic location that is equidistant from the ports of Taranto, Catania and Corfu, fits perfectly into the Central-Med itineraries. And through this collaboration, we look forward to transforming Crotone to its fullest potential.”
Crotone Cruise Port manages the cruise terminal of Crotone, located on the Riva quay, offering transit, inter-porting and homeporting operations to small to medium sized cruise ships, as well as an increasingly wide range of ancillary services. Expected to welcome c24k passengers in 2022, Crotone Cruise Port offers unique experiences all year round in a naturalistically and archaeologically precious location, a little-known jewel suitable for those who love rare pearls.
Kutman: “We have full confidence in the potential of the cruise industry” Mehmet Kutman, President of the Board of Directors of both Global Yatırım and Global Ports said: “We have full confidence in the long-term potential of the cruise industry. We will likely see a rapid rise with the end of the pandemic and revival of delayed demand. Even as of today, the cruise industry has turned into its previous levels, and the bookings grow stronger every day. A majority of cruise lines are planning to put back their entire fleets to sails in the summer of 2022 – which is peak season in the Mediterranean. This will further contribute to increasing the share of the Mediterranean basin in the industry. We will continue to fortify our position as the world’s biggest cruise port operators in the period ahead.”
