Source: Turkish Statistical Institue (TurkStat)

The region has a developed transportation network, allowing the employment of various modes of transportation: aviation, ship transport, rail transport, road transport and oil pipelines.

Airports

Adana International Airport (2,105,510 m²) is listed among the busiest in Turkey. The passenger traffic has more than doubled in the last four years reaching 2,290,427 passengers in 2008 (Source: General Directorate of State Airports Authority)

Ports

Çukurova hosts nine ports/terminals/wharfs. Ports of BOTAŞ and Mersin, ranking the 1^st and 6^th in volume (2008) in Turkey respectively, are among the most significant in Eastern Mediterranean. Mersin Port is well linked to the surrounding regions with railways and motorways and is the import-export gate of Eastern Mediterranean Region and Central and South Eastern Anatolia.

BOTAŞ Port, the port of Ceyhan oil hub, has been gaining an ever increasing international significance. Being the terminus of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and the Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline, the port had a volume of 60 million tonnes in 2008, having tripled in the last three years.

(Source: Undersecretariat for Maritime Affairs)

Railways

The 253.5 km railway in the region connecting Çukurova to Central and South Eastern Anatolia is a part of the historical Baghdad Railway. Mersin Port and Adana Organized Industrial Zone have direct access to the main railway. The two main city centres Adana and Mersin are on the route.

Highways

Highways, the main transportation channels, stretch over 2,397 km. The main state highway crossing the region connects the Çukurova plain to Central Anatolia through the Cilician Gates (Gülek Pass) and is a part of the European route E 90.

                      Motorways in the Region

Pipelines

With the existing and projected pipelines, Ceyhan, one of Adana’s counties, has been turning into an energy hub. Ceyhan is the starting point of the domestic oil pipeline to Kırıkkale refinery in Central Anatolia and the terminus of Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline and Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline.

Iraq-Turkey oil pipeline system

The Iraq - Turkey oil pipeline system transports the oil produced in Kerkuk and other areas of Iraq to Ceyhan Terminal. Its capacity is 70.9 million ton/year. 135,522 barrels of oil was transported by this line in 2008.

Ceyhan- Kırıkkale oil pipeline system

The 448 km pipeline provides oil for Kırıkkale refinery. The annual capacity is 5 million tonnes. 21,427 barrels of oil was transported by this line in 2008.

Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline system

Being the first direct pipeline link between the landlocked Caspian Sea and the Mediterranean, the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline system is the second longest in the world- 1,730 km. The segment within Turkey is 1,070 km and the maximum annual capacity is 50 million tonnes. The amount transported in 2008 was 264,092 barrels.

(Source: BOTAŞ and BOTAŞ International Limited)

Main pipelines in the region (Source: BOTAŞ)

As of February 2009, the number of companies established in the zone is 284 with 20,640 employees.

Number of companies and employees in AOIZ according to the sectors/ products (February 2009)

Stretching over an area of 380 hectares, Mersin-Tarsus Organized Industrial Zone is 22 km to Mersin Port and 35 km to Adana Airport. The natural gas network within the zone provides an alternative to electricity. The zone is equipped with an industrial wastewater treatment plant, a research and development centre- Technoscope, social facilities and a shopping centre.

Free Trade Zones

Free trade zones in Turkey offer various incentives and advantages such as exemption from all taxes associated with business operations, including income and Corporate Tax as well as VAT and lower labour costs due to exemption from income tax paid on salaries and wages.

Both of the free trade zones in Çukurova are very well linked to the main transportation channels.

Adana – Yumurtalık Free Trade Zone

Adana Yumurtalık Free Trade Zone is one of the largest free trade zones in Turkey and in the world, covering a total area of 450 hectares. The Port of Toros, a multi-purpose seaport on Turkey's Mediterranean coast and the largest privately run port in Turkey, is adjacent to the zone. It is the first and only Turkish free trade zone to serve heavy industry. Numerous advantages are offered in the zone including up to 100% foreign investment, recruitment of foreign directors and specialists, transfer of facilities or businesses to other investors, one-stop service provided by the Free Trade Zone Authority.

Mersin Free Trade Zone

The first free trade zone in Turkey, Mersin Free Trade Zone is located next to Mersin Port. The zone allows the production of all kinds of light industries (electronics, optics, machinery, spare parts, textiles, ready-made clothes, etc.) as well as all kinds of wholesale (purchase – sale) trades, packing, repacking, assembling, warehousing, repair and maintenance.

Universities and Research Institutions

Çukurova University: The University is located in Adana. It includes 10 faculties, one school of fine arts, 3 colleges, 9 vocational colleges, 29 research and implementation centres and 3 institutes. The number of academic staff and students are 1909 and 32,700 respectively.

Mersin University: The University is based in Mersin, encompassing 11 faculties, 11 vocational colleges, 9 colleges, 3 institutes, one conservatory and 14 research centres. The vocational colleges are mostly located in the districts. The number of academic staff and students are 1290 and 25, 700 respectively.

Çağ University: A foundation university in Mersin, Çağ University has 3 faculties one vocational college with 87 academic staff and 980 students.

Alata Horticultural Research Institute: The Institute has been carrying out training, research and production activities since 1944. The Institute’s 125 hectares of agricultural land maintain cultivated biodiversity of citrus, subtropical horticultural crops, temperate zone fruits, vegetable growing and breeding on open and under protected conditions, viticulture, floriculture, medicinal plants and forage crops. Performs tests to find out the quality and shortages of the agricultural soil, provides consultancy to the farmers and organizes educational seminars.

Çukurova Technopolis: Established within Çukurova University, Çukurova Technopolis aims at foster the cooperation between the university and industry. The technology park allows companies that will develop new compatible technologies use University’s accumulated information and research infrastructures in order to transfer the results of university research into economic values.

Mersin Technology Development Zone (Technoscope): Technoscope was established in June 2005 with an aim to use the research-development (R&D) studies carried out by the university, industry and other institutions to develop new technologies and transfer them into the industrial production. Another aim is to support the growth of high-tech companies and the constitution of entrepreneurial companies. Its objectives are to attract companies in agriculture, food, chemistry, electronics, IT, biotechnology, nanotechnology, energy and environmental technologies sector, and large-scale companies using advanced technology and international software giants.

THE ECONOMY

Agriculture

In Çukurova, nearly half of the land is covered with forests, notably in the mountainous areas. Agricultural lands are mainly to the south, stretching over 1/5 of the total area of the region. The domination of the Çukurova plain in Adana gives the province a higher percentage of area sown.



Detailed land use in Çukurova region (Source: SIS, Census of agriculture 2001)

Agriculture has historically been an important sector in Çukurova, notably the cultivation of field crops and fruits. Due to their diverse geographic features, Adana and Mersin differ in crop production structures: Adana has a higher ratio of field crops and Mersin has a higher ratio of fruit production.



Crop production pattern (Source: SIS, Agricultural Structure 2004)

Crop production pattern (detailed)(Source: SIS, Agricultural Structure 2004)

Employment by Manufacturing Sectors (Source: SIS, Central Census of Industry and Business Local Units (Provinces) (2002))

Local Units by Manufacturing Sectors (Source: SIS, Central Census of Industry and Business Local Units (Provinces) (2002))

Manufacture of textiles, food products and beverages and wearing apparel (ready-made clothing and confectionary) take the largest shares from employment in Çukurova region with 22%, 17% and 10% respectively. They are followed by mechanics and chemicals and chemical products.

The Rising Stars, Emerging, Transforming and Mature Sectors (2002-2007)

The above graphic shows how specialised the sectors of Çukurova region are compared to Turkey as a whole. The most strongly presented sector of the region is agriculture and agrofood industry, which can be seen as a traditional sector for the region. Wood and forestry products (namely manufacture of furniture) and chemicals and chemical products are the other specialisation areas of the region, and their importance has been increasing.

Export volumes by sectors (2007) (Source: Undersecretariat of Foreign Trade)

The main exporting sectors of the region are, again, agriculture and agrofood industry and textile, ready-made clothing and confectionary. Chemicals and chemical products and mechanics are the other important exporting firms of the region.

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)

As of June 2009, there are 546 companies dominated by foreign capital in Çukurova. The leading sectors in terms of FDI are;

§ Wholesale trade

§ Agriculture

§ Hotels and restaurants

§ Construction

§ Manufacture of food and beverages

§ Land and pipeline transport

§ Retail trade

§ Chemicals and chemical products

To sum up; when production, employment, specialisation, export volumes, FDI and infrastructure are considered, the key sectors of the region are as follows;

§ Agriculture

§ Agrofood Industry

§ Textile, ready-made clothing and confectionary

§ Wood and forestry products

§ Chemicals and chemical products

§ Mechanics (Automotive)

§ Logistics

Moreover, when the potential of the region and the global economic conditions are considered, the following sectors can be regarded as future investment areas for the region:

§ Petrochemicals (Ceyhan Energy Hub)

§ Shipbuilding

§ Renewable energy