The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a $19.5mn loan to a local ship maintenance yard, Tersan Tersanecilik Sanayi, the development bank announced on July 10.

Tersan, whose line of business includes repairing ships and barges, will use the financing to build a new dock in Yalova, a city on the eastern coast of the Marmara Sea, the EBRD said in a statement. The company currently owns two floating docks. The new dock will be able to cater for larger, Panamax-size vessels, and will be the third such dock in terms of technical and installed capacity in the Yalova cluster.

“The vessel maintenance sector in Turkey is growing into a major industry as its shipbuilding and repair facilities become increasingly important in the region. Both local and European clients are looking for cost-effective ways to maintain ships, and Turkey offers some of the most competitive prices in terms of steel and labour,” the EBRD added.

“Tersan’s new floating dock, geographically located near the Marmara Sea, a very high traffic area for container and other types of vessels, will provide flexible and reliable repair services for both Turkish and European vessels,” Sue Barrett, EBRD Director for Transport, said. “As Turkey is expanding its trade with Europe and industries are looking for competitive ship building and maintenance services, the new dock, a best in class, will bring a tailwind to the promising Turkish shipping industry.”

In June, the EBRD provided an €88.3mn loan to the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, and participated in the financing package to a city hospital project worth €600mn to be built in Turkey’s southeastern city of Gaziantep. The development bank also supported geothermal exploration activities in the country’s Dikili region with a €5mn loan and it provided a €20mn loan to the Bulgarian subsidiary of Turkish automotive supplier Teklas Kaucuk to support its further expansion.

The EBRD invested more in Turkey last year than in any other country of operation. But at a press conference during the EBRD annual meeting held in May in Nicosia, Cyprus, EBRD president Sir Suma Chakrabarti said that “he expected the development bank’s investments in Turkey to drop this year.”

To date, the bank has invested over €9bn in Turkey through more than 220 projects across many sectors and has mobilised nearly €20bn for these ventures from other sources of financing. Some 98% of the bank’s investments in Turkey are in the private sector.