According to the DHMI , by the end of 2013 November, in Turkey, the number of passengers increased to 139.9 million by 14 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Privatization process is in progress for Çandarlı and Derince Ports that belong to TCDD . DHMI General Manager Orhan Birdal gave a speech at the “Civil Aviation Sector, Technology and Education Panel” organized by the Turkish Aeronautical Association University. In his statements Birdal mentioned that they were expecting the number of airline passengers to increase to 152 million by the end of this year. Birdal added that the countries with highest numbers in 2013 were Turkey, Russia, China and Brazil. According to the Directorate General of Merchant Marine, , the total number of containers handled in the first 10 months in Turkey increased to 6.5 million TEU by 10 percent however the amount of load handled decreased to 321,0 million tons by 1,0 percent. In the privatization tender of Derince Port which belongs to TCDD the bidding period has extended to January 16, 2014. The Northern Aegean Izmir Çandarlı Port project has been canceled due to having no bid in the tender held on November 5th 2013, yet a new tender is expected to happen soon.