Istanbul to Establish a Modern Seafood Market

The Kumkapı Seafood Market, which is having difficulties responding to the developing needs of Istanbul, will move to Gürpınar, Istanbul. The plan of the Modern Seafood Market, which will be built in a large area of 240,000 square meters, was approved at the General Assembly of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

The General Assembly of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality decided to move the Kumkapı Seafood Market to Gürpınar, Istanbul because it is not responding to the developing needs of the city. The 1/5000 regulatory development plan and the 1/1000 application development plan of the Seafood Market, which will be built on the filled area of the Gürpınar coastline of the Beylikdüzü county was accepted at the General Assembly of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality by a unanimous vote during the session held on Friday, December 18, 2009.

The new seafood market, which was also approved by the Ministry of Public Works and Settlement, will be built on an area of 240,000 square meters and will be one of the most modern fish markets in the world. The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality will publish a bidder notice for the project which consists of a fishing port, aquaculture facilities, jetties, boat yards, a pier, berth, breakwater, a boathouse, warehouses, and parking spaces. The new seafood market which will have technical, hygienic, and physical competence and which will export seafood products to the European Union (EU) is expected to significantly increase the amount of seafood exports from Turkey.

Mr. Kadir Topbaş, the mayor of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, heralded a new fish market to be built at the opening ceremony of the fish season on September 1, 2009. He stated, "The new fish market to be built in Gürpınar will be number one in the world. This facility, which will have the most advanced technology, will provide service to the Istanbulians for about 50 years. It will also increase our exportations." Mayor Mr. Topbaş, stressed that the opinions of the related agencies and institutions were also taken into account during the implementation phase of the project.

The current fish market located in Kumkapı, Istanbul has been providing services to the Istanbulians since 1983 covers an area of 27,000 square meters. Of this area 10,000 square meters is covered and 17,000 square meters consists of an open area. In this area there are more than 100 seafood products sold. About 1,000 boats of various size which have been licensed by the Provincial Directorate of Agriculture operate around the fish market. The market has been operating for 26 years and is having difficulties responding to the expectations of both population growth and developing technology. Due to physical inadequacies, several boats are unable to approach the berth at the same time.

Source: http://www.ibb.gov.tr/en-US/Pages/Haber.aspx?NewsID=261