World Bank Turkiye Country Director Humberto Lopez stated that they are working with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to develop the Middle Corridor trade route and said, “The first part needs to be put into operation to develop the Middle Corridor trade route connecting Georgia to Bulgaria and coming via Istanbul.”
World Bank Turkiye Country Director Lopez said in his statement that, as the World Bank, they work mostly with the public sector.
Stating that they created an equity fund with the Turkish Industrial Development Bank (TSKB), Lopez said, “We are doing this for the first time in Turkiye and in the world.”
Stating that they lent money to TSKB and that this was used to activate the equity fund, Lopez noted that this also attracted the attention of the private sector.
Stating that they are currently working on a project in the preparation phase, Lopez said, “TSKB and Turkiye Development and Investment Bank (TKYB) will both use resources to ensure balance and provide additional loans to the private sector.”
Lopez stated that they have an operation in the preparation phase with Turk Eximbank and said that they lent $600 million to Turk Eximbank and that this will be for exporters.
Middle Corridor trade route
Humberto Lopez emphasized that they focus on public infrastructure and said:
“We are working with the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to develop the Middle Corridor trade route. The first part needs to be put into operation to develop the Middle Corridor trade route connecting Georgia to Bulgaria and coming via Istanbul. The cost of the first part is expected to exceed $600 million.
“In addition to our ongoing $17 billion program (for Turkiye), we anticipate preparing and presenting new operations worth $18 billion to the World Bank Group Board of Directors in the next 3 years.”
Source: Trthaber / Prepared by Irem Yildiz