Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, “Istanbul Airport is the apple of our eye. It hosted 78 million people last year alone. Our target is 200 million, and we are working on it.”
In his speech at the “Forum on the Reconstruction of Ukraine” held with the participation of Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Oleksandr Kubrakov and Minister of Trade Ömer Bolat, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Uraloğlu said that Turkey is strategically located in an important position.
Stating that 67 countries can be reached in exactly 4 hours with a 4-hour flight distance from Turkey, Uraloğlu said, “There is a gross national product of 40 trillion dollars here and we are talking about a trade volume of 8.5 trillion dollars. Therefore, we see that Turkey has such a strategic location.”
Uraloğlu pointed to the transportation, transportation and trade corridors, which have been discussed since the past but have been on the agenda more intensely these days, and emphasized that Turkey is located at the most important point of the middle corridor.
Minister Uraloğlu said, “If we had realized the development path we are considering today, a cargo leaving Beijing would have reached London in just 26 days. It can reach London in 35 days through the Suez Canal, but due to the problems experienced, this has turned mainly to the Cape of Good Hope and this transportation and trade can be realized in about 45 days.”
Uraloğlu stated that they are planning to implement the 1200-kilometer Development Road Project, which they carry out with Iraq and other countries in the region, from Iraq’s Fav Port to Turkey by rail and at the same time connecting to ports in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean, and that they will make an important progress at this point within the year.
Uraloğlu, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, noted that as a country, they have invested 250 billion dollars in transportation and communication in the last 21 years and said, “We have made the majority of it so far on highways. However, we are planning to make the next part mostly on railways.”
Stating that Istanbul Airport ranks first in Europe and 7th in the world, Uraloğlu said, “Antalya and Sabiha Gökçen airports are also big airports in terms of ranking and capacity in Europe and the world. Istanbul Airport is the apple of our eye. It hosted 78 million people last year alone. Our target is 200 million, and we are working on it.”
“We have started the super high speed train project”
Minister Uraloğlu stated that they have 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 about 80 minutes.
Stating that they started the work on the project this year, Uraloğlu said, “We hope to start its construction by 2028. We will also make the second railroad crossing from Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge to Europe. With a 120-kilometer railway line, we will clearly increase the capacity of the middle corridor. We plan to start construction this year.”
Referring to Turkey’s space studies, Uraloğlu said, “We have satellites in space. In 2024, we will increase our power there by sending our national and domestic satellite, which we produce ourselves, to America and launching it into space in June.”
“Turkish contracting companies have undertaken 10 billion dollars worth of projects in Ukraine”
Erdal Eren, President of the Turkish Contractors Association (TCA), stated that Ukraine is a reliable partner and a country of special importance for the contracting sector and that the Ukrainian authorities have realized 301 projects worth approximately 10 billion dollars with Turkish companies so far.
Stating that their goal is to “work together in the reconstruction process of Ukraine and contribute to Ukraine’s development”, Eren said that the Memorandum of Cooperation signed in Lviv on August 18, 2022, which includes the establishment of the “Joint Task Force for the Reconstruction of Ukraine”, constitutes the basis of all these steps.
Noting that the “Implementation Principles for the Turkey-Ukraine Reconstruction Task Force” will be signed today with ministerial-level participation from both countries, Eren said that the Turkish Contractors Association will be the field arm of the task force.
