15.11.2026 13:12
AK Party Rize Provincial Chairman Yılmaz Katmer said that a large part of the base the Naval Forces Command will establish in the Black Sea will be built in Rize. Katmer reported that the Rize Port, which will be evacuated in August 2027, and the 250-decare landfill area are decisive, that it has been decided to establish a shipyard for the construction of submarines and unmanned submarines, and that in the first stage, 5,000 soldiers coming for training and a request for 500 residences are on the agenda.
AK Party Rize Provincial Chairman Yılmaz Katmer said, “Our Naval Forces Command is establishing a base in the Black Sea. We are establishing a large part of this base in Rize.”
Yılmaz Katmer, Rize Provincial Chairman of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), visited the Ardeşen Mukhtars Association. Speaking there, Katmer stated that the Naval Forces Command would establish a base in the Eastern Black Sea region and said, “We have signed off on a development that can make our Rize very happy. Our Naval Forces Command is establishing a base in the Black Sea. We are establishing a large part of this base in Rize. During our Northern Field Commander Vice Admiral’s visit to Rize last time, these signatures were made and decisions were taken. And here, during this Ankara visit, we will have the final conversation with our President.”
CLIMATE AND PORT BECAME DETERMINING FACTORS
Noting that the Eastern Black Sea’s climate conditions being at the desired level made Rize attractive for the Naval Forces Command, Katmer said, “Because the weather conditions in İskenderun were very hot for the military unit designated as the naval unit, deaths occurred. The Naval Forces Command reported that it should be moved to the Black Sea, the region with the most suitable climate conditions. The fact that the most suitable province for this had, first and foremost, the port that was to be vacated, Rize Port, and behind it a reclamation area, a 250-decare reclamation area, made it a highly desired area for our Naval Forces. In addition, in these most important efforts regarding the mooring of certain ships for logistics, and also the mooring of fast patrol boats at one side of our airport, a decision was made to establish a shipyard for the construction of submarines and unmanned submarine vessels. And in the first stage, the arrival of 5,000 of our soldiers here for training, as well as requests for 500 units of staff housing.”
INVESTMENTS WILL COME BY THE END OF 2028
Underlining that the base the Naval Forces Command will build in Rize is a major investment, Katmer said, “In short, the Ovit Tunnel is a very large investment. As a connection, the airport is fine, a very large investment. And if we look at logistics in connection with Ovit, of course, in connection with China, the UK, the Middle East, and the Turkic republics, but in the short term, the best investment is this planning that the Naval Forces Command has made for Rize. The biggest factor in this planning being in Rize is that the climate conditions are very good. The second is that there is the necessary logistics infrastructure for those facilities, that military unit, to be moved here at once. The biggest part of this is the port. The fact that our port has been vacated. In August 2027, Rize Port’s term expires and it is vacated. In this context, we are gaining a very good location. And toward the end of 2027-2028, all these investments we have mentioned will have come to Rize, friends.”