Trabzon Port, whose right to operate is held by Turkey's Albayrak Group until the end of 2033, has hit the button for a public offering.

According to a statement released by Trabzonport, an agreement was signed with Deniz Yatırım for the public offering of Trabzon Port, which stands out for its steady income structure.

Applications were made to the Capital Markets Board (CMB) and Borsa Istanbul for the public offering of shares, which corresponds to 30 percent of the issued capital of TL 21 million ($5.37 million), held by Trabzon Limanı İşletmeciliği A.Ş. with a nominal value of TL 6.3 million belonging to Albayrak Turizm Seyahat Insaat Ticaret A.Ş. The public offering is set to be completed by the beginning of 2018 with the approval of the CMB and Borsa Istanbul.

Trabzon Port, which dates back centuries, served for many years as one of the five important ports of the Ottoman Empire. The new port, whose foundation was laid July 8, 1946, was modernized with work that began in 1980 to respond to increasing ship traffic.

Following the acquisition of the 30-year operation right by the Albayrak Group in 2003, the handling capacity of Trabzon Port increased from 3.9 million to 10 million tons. Today, Trabzon Port is the largest port in the Eastern Black Sea region with the amount of cargo handled and the size of the port area.

With the public offering, Trabzon Port will have the title of the first port to be traded on the stock market.

Muzaffer Ermiş, general manager of Trabzon Limanı İşletmeciliği A.Ş, said in the statement that Trabzon Port has the ability to handle general, bulk and container cargoes for customers without the need for additional investments due to its modern infrastructure and machinery park.

Ermiş said they agreed with Deniz Yatırım within the framework of public offering activities and applied to the CMB and Borsa Istanbul in this regard. "We are proud to be the first port to be traded on the stock market," he said.

Noting that they describe Trabzon Port as the "gateway of the East to the West," Ermiş said rising economies in the world are in the east, and this port is the most effective gateway of the East to the West. "In addition, the logistics advantage of Trabzon Port will increase with the road connection to northeastern and eastern regions, the new Maçka Tunnel and Mount Kop Tunnel projects to be completed soon," he added.