Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated that they started the super high-speed train project between Ankara and Istanbul and said that the project, which will have a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, will cover a distance of 344 kilometers in approximately 80 minutes.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloglu attended the “Reconstruction Forum of Ukraine” held with the participation of Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Oleksandr Kubrakov and Minister of Trade Omer Bolat.
In his speech here, Uraloglu made statements about the construction, ongoing and new projects.
Stating that 67 countries can be reached in exactly 4 hours with a 4-hour flight distance from Turkiye, Uraloglu said, “There is a gross national product of $40 trillion here and we are talking about a trade volume of $8.5 trillion. Therefore, we see that Turkiye has such a strategic position.”
Uraloglu pointed out the shipping, transportation and trade corridors, which have been discussed in the past but are more on the agenda these days, and emphasized that Turkiye is at the most important point of the middle corridor.
Minister Uraloglu said, “If we had implemented the development path we think about today, a cargo leaving Beijing would be able to reach London in just 26 days. It can reach the Suez Canal in 35 days, but due to the difficulties experienced, it has mostly turned to the Cape of Good Hope and this transportation and trade can take place in approximately 45 days.”
Uraloglu stated that they are planning to implement the 1200-kilometer Development Road Project, which they are carrying out with Iraq and other regional countries, which crosses Turkiye by rail from Iraq’s Favorite Port and also connects to the ports in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean. He said that they will make important progress at this point during the year.
“OUR TARGET IN AVIATION IS 200 MILLION PASSENGERS”
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Uraloglu noted that, as a country, they have invested $250 billion in transportation and communication in the last 21 years, and said, “We have done most of it on highways so far. However, we plan to make the next part mostly on railways.”
Expressing that Istanbul Airport ranks first in Europe and 7th in the world, Uraloglu said, “Antalya and Sabiha Gokcen airports are also our largest airports in Europe and the world in terms of ranking and capacity. Istanbul Airport is the apple of our eye. Last year alone, it hosted 78 million people. Our target is 200 million, and we are working on that.”
“WE STARTED THE SUPER SPEED TRAIN PROJECT”
Minister Uraloglu stated that they started the super high-speed train project between Ankara and Istanbul and said that the project, which will have a speed of 350 kilometers per hour, will cover a distance of 344 kilometers in approximately 80 minutes.
Stating that they started the work on the project this year, Uraloglu said, “We hope to start its construction by 2028. We will also have made the second railway crossing to Europe from the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. We will clearly increase the capacity of the middle corridor with a 120-kilometer railway line. We plan to start construction this year.”
Referring to Turkiye’s space studies, Uraloglu said, “We have satellites in space. We will increase our power there by sending our own national and domestic satellite to America in 2024 and launching it into space in June.”
“TURKISH COMPANIES UNDERTAKEN A $10 BILLION PROJECT IN UKRAINE”
Erdal Eren, President of the Turkish Contractors Association (TMB), stated that Ukraine is a reliable partner and a country of special importance for the contracting industry, and said that the Ukrainian authorities have carried out a total of 301 projects worth approximately $10 billion with Turkish companies to date.
Eren stated that their goal is “to work together in the reconstruction process of Ukraine and to contribute to the development of Ukraine.”, and added saying that the Memorandum of Cooperation, which includes the establishment of the “Mixed Task Force for the Reconstruction of Ukraine” signed in Lviv on August 18, 2022, forms the basis of all these steps.
Eren noted that the “Implementation Principles for the Turkiye-Ukraine Reconstruction Task Force” will be signed today with the participation of the two countries at the ministerial level, and stated that the branch of the established task force in the field will be the Turkish Contractors Association.
Stating that Turkish contracting companies are ready and willing to take part in all kinds of infrastructure and superstructure projects that Ukraine needs, Eren concluded his words as follows.
“As it is known, contracting services are one of the main fields of activity in which Turkiye has been highly competitive and has a worldwide reputation for more than fifty years. Our contracting companies also operate as investors in many countries around the world, from the production of construction materials to various fields such as energy, tourism, health and transportation. As of today, we are proud to have a giant project portfolio of over $12 thousand in 135 countries, amounting to $502 billion.”
Source: NTV / Prepared by Irem Yildiz