A contract for the tender of 15 new ships to be purchased to carry passengers in the gulf was signed in Izmir.

A contract for the tender of 15 new ships to be purchased to carry passengers in the gulf was signed in Izmir. At the ceremony held at Üçkuyular Ferry Pier, the construction contract of the ships was signed by İzmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Aziz Kocaoğlu and Özdemir Atasever, Chairman of Özata Tersanecilik, who won the tender.

In his speech at the ceremony, Kocaoğlu said that they had accelerated their work for the gulf since the day they took office, that scientific-based projects were developed in the 6-year study carried out with Dokuz Eylül University, that when they first put out the tender, they were bombarded by the steel and aluminum ship producing lobby and some circles, and that the tender for delivery to the address He noted that they were criticized for doing so.

Kocaoğlu stated that the tender was cancelled as a result of the criticism, and that after the investigations they carried out during this process, they were once again sure that those who criticized them did not have justified reasons, and that they went out to tender for the second time, and continued his words as follows:

“We have taken science and reason as our guide. The tender was awarded to a local company that has been doing this business for 37 years. The raw materials used are produced in 9 countries in the world and one of them is Turkey. The workmanship is completely local. Carbon composite ships will raise the bar in the shipbuilding industry in Turkey. The lifespan of ships made with this material is twice as long as steel ships, and their maintenance costs are much lower. “When a local company won the tender, it came to light that we were not making a ‘delivery to address’ tender as claimed.”

Stating that the discussion made Izmir lose 7-8 months, but did not change the result, Kocaoğlu stated that the decisions in Izmir were made with democratic participation, and although there was a loss of time and some difficulties, the best result was ultimately achieved.

Stating that they will support all kinds of projects, provided that they are for the benefit of the city, Kocaoğlu continued his words as follows:

“We are against the use of resources for purposes other than their intended purpose. We are against the destruction of public spaces. We act in a planned manner. We will pay the 117-million-euro cost of these ships from our own resources. In 8 years, all infrastructure problems except garbage were solved. “There is no ‘reluctance’ in our understanding of municipality, but there is no giving away public lands either.”

Kocaoğlu stated that he could not understand the ongoing discussions about the stadium in Izmir, and that although they stated that they wanted to build a stadium in Örnekköy 1.5 years ago, he still had difficulty understanding the search for someone to build the stadium.

Özata Shipyard Chairman of the Board of Directors, Özdemir Ataseven, said that 13 of the ships, which will be 38 meters long and 11 meters long, will have a speed of 18 knots and 2 will have a speed of 30 knots, and that despite the high speed of the ships, they are designed not to create high waves in the Gulf.

Ataseven stated that the ships will attract attention with their environmentally friendly features and low operating and maintenance costs, as well as being modern, fast and useful, and explained that the carbon composite material is 4 times stronger than steel, but 8 times lighter.

Guests, including representatives of chambers and political parties in Izmir, CHP Izmir Members of Parliament Mustafa Moroğlu and Hülya Güven, attended the signing ceremony.