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Turkish petrochemical company SASA, one of the world’s largest polyester-based raw materials manufacturers, unveiled the details of its planned $25 billion investment in Adana on Tuesday.
Construction is expected to commence in the first or second quarter of 2026, while the company projects that the investment will create 8,000 to 10,000 jobs during the construction phase and 2,500 to 3,000 permanent positions once completed, and reduce the country’s annual imports by up to $7 billion when operational.
Türkiye's chemical imports totaled $42.8 billion in 2024, while imports of organic chemicals and plastics in primary forms — categories that include polyester and its raw materials — amounted to $20.72 billion, according to official data.
According to the information obtained from the company, the project will be executed in three phases. In the first phase, SASA plans to build an integrated facility that includes a refinery with an annual capacity of 13 million tons, a port, and a 1.2 million-ton-per-year polypropylene plant, a durable plastic raw material used in packaging, textiles, and automotive parts.
The large-scale investment will be located in Yumurtalik, a district in Adana province on the Mediterranean coast, within a designated “special industrial zone.” The site spans 5.5 million square meters (1,360 acres or 59.20 million square feet) and received its official status via a presidential decree published in the Official Gazette on August 16.
Following the decree, the company’s shares rallied on Borsa Istanbul, rising nearly 50% since August 16 as of Tuesday.
SASA Board Member Mehmet Seker told Anadolu Agency that the investment covers petrochemical and refinery facilities along with a port, and that the announcement was disclosed to Türkiye’s Public Disclosure Platform (KAP) on August 18.
Seker said the facilities will produce aromatic chemicals that Türkiye currently imports, noting the strategic importance of domestic raw material production, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic exposed supply chain vulnerabilities.
"Our primary objective is to produce raw materials and high value-added products. We want to boost exports while reducing imports and external dependency. That’s why we’re pursuing this investment," he said.
Seker emphasized that the country requires around 2.5 million tons of polypropylene annually. The new facility will produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and paraxylene—the raw material used in polyester—by processing naphtha and condensate oil.
He explained that SASA currently produces purified terephthalic acid (PTA), a key polyester input, at a capacity of 4,800 tons per day or about 1.75 million tons per year. "We used to import this product, but now we produce it domestically. Once the initial investment is completed, we will also stop importing its precursor, paraxylene," he added.
He said the facility is projected to help meet domestic demand and support downstream industries that use SASA’s raw materials to create end-products.
The new investment is expected to supply the domestic market and expand exports by introducing new product lines, Seker added.
The company currently employs approximately 5,000 people, with exports to the United States, Europe, Africa, and East Asia.
Seker noted that SASA is in talks with relevant state agencies and international companies to move forward with the project, asserting that the Yumurtalik region could evolve into a major chemical industrial hub over the next 10 to 15 years, providing economic value to both Adana and the wider Mediterranean region.
Founded in 1966 by Sabanci Holding, SASA has been a subsidiary of Erdemoglu Holding, a global textile manufacturer based in Türkiye, since its acquisition in 2016.
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