Logistics giant opens base at Sabiha Gökçen

The center, built on an area of 3,767 square meters of land, will begin operations in May and create 107 jobs. With an investment of 8 million euros, TNT Ekspres will be the first international express courier company to base itself at Sabiha Gökçen.

The signing ceremony for the investment was conducted Tuesday during a press conference in Istanbul.

After the center is completed, TNT jets coming to and from the company’s headquarters in Liege, Belgium, will use the Sabiha Gökçen base, which will also serve for land deliveries. The company plans to process 8,000 daily deliveries.

TNT Ekspres’ move will also increase the speed of deliveries as Atatürk International Airport has been operating beyond capacity for some time, according to a press statement from the company.

“Last year, the weight of our deliveries rose 19.4 percent on an annual basis,” TNT managing director Turgut Yıldız said. “According to weight, 61 percent of our operations involve air and 39 percent involve land transportation.”

TNT started Turkish flights with Boeing 757s for the first time in February.

“The year 2010 will be marked by growth and investments. After the global crisis, new markets are gaining importance. Starting from the second quarter, deliveries to Far Eastern countries have increased. China ranks first with an increase of 40 percent while deliveries to Egypt, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates rose nearly 10 percent, he said.”

“Turkey has always been a country that we believed in,” said Christian Drenthen, South Europe regional director for TNT Ekspres. “TNT Ekspres Turkey has not even once reported a stagnancy or retreat since its founding. During the period of crisis, it continued to succeed. Thus, Turkey is a priority in investments.”

In addition to Yıldız and Drenthen, Gökhan Buğday, chief executive officer of Sabiha Gökçen International Airport Investment Construction and Operations, also attended Tuesday’s opening ceremony.