Turkish Firm to Invest in El Salvador’s Bitcoin City Infrastructure

El Salvador is set to receive $1.615 billion in investments from the Turkish company Yilport Holding, with a portion allocated to the Bitcoin City project.

Ülkemizin tarihindeki en büyük özel yatırım ???? pic.twitter.com/2cmn8T3g5p

— Nayib Bukele (@nayibbukele) August 12, 2024

The funds will be used to upgrade two of the country’s ports—Acajutla and La Unión. The partnership involves joint management of the enterprises for 50 years.

“This is the largest private investment in our country’s history,” stated El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele.

In the first phase, the main maritime hub in Acajutla will undergo infrastructure modernization. The next phase will see the expansion of port terminals to increase their capacity.

The port of La Unión, under construction since 2005, is to become part of the Bitcoin City project announced in November 2021. In collaboration with Yilport Holding, dredging operations in the harbor are planned, followed by the acquisition of modern equipment such as cranes and loaders.

The port is expected to be part of the future “Bitcoin metropolis,” alongside residential and business districts, an airport, and a railway station.

According to Bukele, the city will serve as a tax haven, where only VAT will be levied. Half of the proceeds will go towards bond payments, while the other half will fund infrastructure maintenance.

In the autumn of 2021, the country’s authorities, at Bukele’s initiative, recognized the first cryptocurrency as legal tender.

In February 2024, the politician was re-elected as President of El Salvador. He pledged to continue the Bitcoin strategy. This includes several initiatives:

• the opportunity to obtain residency and potentially citizenship for investments of $1 million through digital gold or USDT;
• the $1 billion Volcano Energy project for mining the first cryptocurrency with Tether’s involvement.

Back in July, the Bitfinex Securities platform announced the return of funds to investors following an unsuccessful attempt to issue tokenized bonds for the construction of a Hampton by Hilton hotel complex at El Salvador’s international airport. Less than 5.5% of the $6.25 million target was raised.