Çukurova — Türkiye's Mediterranean Gateway
A 38,500 km² fertile plain anchored by the cities of Mersin and Adana — home to Türkiye's largest Mediterranean port, a brand-new international airport, the country's first free zone, and one of the world's most productive agricultural regions.
Where the Taurus Mountains meet the Mediterranean
Çukurova is the historical name for the vast alluvial plain of southern Türkiye, formed by the Seyhan, Ceyhan and Berdan rivers. It is the second-largest agricultural plain in the Mediterranean basin after the Nile Delta.
The Çukurova region encompasses the core areas of four provinces — Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye and Hatay — between the northern Taurus Mountains and the southern Mediterranean coast. The plain has been continuously inhabited for over 8,000 years, from the Hittites and Cilicians through the Roman, Byzantine, Armenian, Seljuk and Ottoman periods.
Today the region is one of Türkiye's most economically dynamic, combining intensive agriculture, heavy industry, logistics and a young urban population concentrated in the metropolitan corridors of Mersin and Adana.
The climate is classic Mediterranean — long hot summers, mild wet winters — supporting two and sometimes three crop cycles per year on irrigated land.
Mersin International Port — Türkiye's largest Mediterranean gateway
Operated by MIP (a joint venture of PSA International and Akfen Holding), Mersin Port is the principal container, dry bulk and project-cargo gateway for southern Türkiye, the South Caucasus and parts of the Middle East.
In June 2025, MIP inaugurated Phase I of its East Med Hub 2 (EMH2) expansion — a US$455 million project that extends the deepwater quay to 880 metres and adds four new ship-to-shore cranes plus 14 automated rail-mounted gantry cranes.
The first 400-metre, 19,313-TEU container vessel — MSC DITTE — berthed at the new terminal in October 2025. When EMH2 is fully operational at the end of 2026, Mersin's annual capacity will rise from 2.6 to 3.6 million TEU.
The port directly serves Türkiye's industrial heartland, the Çukurova free zone, and an expanding network of inland rail and highway connections to Central Anatolia, the Caucasus and the Persian Gulf.
Çukurova International Airport (COV)
Opened on 11 August 2024, Çukurova International Airport is the new aviation hub for southern Türkiye — replacing the legacy Adana airport for the long term and serving the combined Mersin-Adana metropolitan area of more than four million people.
Located within Mersin Province, the airport was built at a cost of €244.5 million and features a 110,051 m² terminal designed for 9 million passengers per year, expandable to higher capacity in later phases.
The airport primarily serves the export logistics of Adana, Mersin, Osmaniye, Niğde and Hatay — five of the most productive provinces in Türkiye for agriculture, textiles and processed foods. In its first five months of operation (Aug–Dec 2024), it handled nearly 1.92 million passengers.
Combined with the deepwater port in Mersin, the airport gives the Çukurova region a rare advantage among Mediterranean economies: a major sea, air and rail node within 60 km of each other.
Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant — Türkiye's first
In the Gülnar district of Mersin Province — about 150 km west of Mersin city — Türkiye's first commercial nuclear power plant is in its commissioning phase. Once the four units are online, Akkuyu will supply roughly 10% of the country's electricity.
Akkuyu NPP is being built by Russia's Rosatom under a build-own-operate model — the first project of its kind in the global nuclear industry. Total investment is approximately US$20 billion, making it one of the largest single foreign-direct-investment projects in Türkiye's history.
The plant comprises four VVER-1200 Generation III+ reactors, each rated 1,200 MW, for a total installed capacity of 4,800 MW. Commissioning of the first reactor unit began in July 2025, with grid connection and start-up targeted for 2026; the remaining units are scheduled to follow over the second half of the decade.
For the Çukurova region, Akkuyu means more than electricity. It anchors a long-term skilled-workforce pipeline — hundreds of Turkish engineers were trained in Russia for plant operation — and reinforces Mersin's positioning as Türkiye's southern energy and logistics gateway, complementing the port and airport.
An export economy built on land, sea and labour
Çukurova combines world-class agricultural productivity with heavy manufacturing, energy, free-zone logistics and a deep, comparatively low-cost workforce — all within shipping distance of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.
Mersin Free Zone
Established in 1987 as Türkiye's first free zone. Adjacent to Mersin Port with piers inside the zone. Türkiye's free zone exports are projected to exceed US$12.5B in 2025.
Agriculture
Çukurova produces around half of Türkiye's citrus exports and leads the country in soy, peanuts and corn. Two to three crop cycles per year on irrigated land.
Industry
Textile and apparel manufacturing anchored in Adana, plus chemicals, fertilizers, glass, steel and an oil refinery along the Mersin–Adana corridor.
Logistics location
Within 3 hours' flight of Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus and most of Europe. Direct sea access via Mersin and inland rail to Anatolia.
Workforce
A young, urbanising population of 6.3 million across the four core provinces, with technical universities in Mersin, Adana and Tarsus feeding skilled labour into industry.
Investment incentives
Free zone tax advantages, customs exemptions, and Türkiye's regional investment incentive scheme apply across most of the Çukurova provinces.
A coastline, a kitchen and 8,000 years of history
From Roman ruins at Soli/Pompeiopolis and Anavarza to the medieval castle of Kızkalesi rising from the sea, Çukurova rewards visitors who look past the beach. And then there is the food — Adana kebab, tantuni, şalgam, fresh citrus year-round.
Mersin coastline
Some 320 km of Mediterranean shoreline running west from Mersin city through Erdemli, Silifke, Anamur and on toward Antalya — coves, ancient harbours, and the sea-castle of Kızkalesi.
Adana & the plain
Türkiye's fifth-largest city, with the Sabancı Central Mosque, the historic Taşköprü Roman bridge over the Seyhan, and the country's most famous regional cuisine.
The Taurus Mountains
Within an hour of the coast, the Taurus rise to over 3,500 m — yayla (highland) villages, cool summers, hiking, and the Cilician Gates pass used for three millennia.