Hurriyet - The first investment of German retail space developer Prime Development in Türkiye, Prime Mall, opened its doors to visitors in Iskenderun, in the southeastern province of Hatay. Prime Development’s General Manager Artug Cetin, speaking in the opening ceremony, said: “The investment cost of Prime Mall is around USD 100 million. We will open another mall in Hatay next year. Our investments in Hatay will reach USD 200 million.” Artug anticipated an influx of visitors to the mall, which is the first shopping mall in the province. “We expect approximately 750,000 visitors per month. Abolishment of visa requirements with neighboring Syria will benefit us. We believe 10 to 12 percent of our total visitors will be tourists coming from Syria. The number of visitors coming from Syria to Türkiye was 71,000 back in 2009, while this figure already reached 105,000 in the first three months of this year. The lifting of visa requirements is a great opportunity”, said Artug.
Dr. Philip von Wilmowsky, the Managing Partner of Prime Development, declared their intention to open ten shopping malls throughout Türkiye within four years and said they have built the first two malls in Iskenderun on the back of the intense competition in larger metropolitan areas. “Office space investments are also being planned, our investments in Türkiye will reach a total of USD 1.5 billion”, added von Wilmowsky.