Yilport, a Turkish holding company, is investing $1.6 billion in El Salvador's port infrastructure, setting the stage for the revival of the country's Bitcoin City project.
President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador shared the news through a video on X, revealing that Yilport and the Comisión Ejecutiva Portuaria Autónoma (CEPA) will collaborate to manage the Acajutla and La Unión ports for the next 50 years.
La Unión port, which began construction in 2005 but was never completed, is the proposed location for Bitcoin City. This project, introduced by Bukele in 2021, envisions a city powered entirely by Bitcoin and free from all taxes except value-added tax.
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The partnership is now expected to drive developments at La Unión port, including dredging operations and acquiring heavy equipment by the end of 2024.
Stacy Herbert, director of the National Bitcoin Commission Office of El Salvador, praised Bukele's initiatives on X, highlighting that he has revitalized numerous neglected aspects of the country, including the port, the economy, and the lives of its citizens.
Initially, the financing for Bitcoin City was to be secured through a BTC bond worth $1 billion, also known as the Volcano Bond. This bond planned to use geothermal energy from dormant volcanoes for Bitcoin mining. However, the bond's launch did not occur as scheduled.
Yilport's investment is seen as an essential step toward realizing the vision of Bitcoin City and fulfilling El Salvador's innovative aspirations.
In other news, earlier this year, President Bukele announced that a big part of El Salvador's BTC holdings would be relocated to a cold wallet stashed in a physical vault.
