Ferit BRIGHT
A new era in railway freight transport is beginning with new investments. With new investments in which OSB and port connections will also be planned, railway freight transport will increase from 38 million tons to 150 million tons in 4 years…
Uraloğlu told DÜNYA…
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who explained the realizations and the 4-year action plan to DÜNYA, said that the source of new projects, especially railway projects, will be the income to be obtained from bridges, roads and ports built with the Build-Operate-Transfer model.
Uraloğlu, who stated that emphasis will be given to railway transportation projects that will reduce costs and increase speed in industrial and agricultural production, said, “Freight transportation on railways is very important. While developing the network here, we also plan to provide OSB and port connections. In this way, we will increase the competitive advantage and speed of our producers and reduce their costs.”
Uraloğlu said, “We want to take the load from OSBs and even from inside industrial facilities and transfer it directly to logistics centers and ports. We currently have 439 kilometers of such lines, we will have built another 268 kilometers by 2028. There is currently a rate of 38 million tons and 5 percent in freight transportation, we will increase this to 150 million tons in 2028 and 448 million tons in 2053, and hopefully we will have loaded a 22 percent share onto railways.”
Uraloğlu said, “If we close the roads and bridges that were built with the Build-Operate-Transfer model and were criticized a lot, Turkey would be paralyzed. In addition, the guarantee figures given in most of the projects were exceeded and the state started to earn income.”
Uraloğlu, who also gave details about the guarantees and realizations, said, “The vehicle guarantee for the Osmangazi Bridge was 40 thousand; currently an average of 60 thousand vehicles pass… The Eurasia Tunnel passage guarantee was approximately 70 thousand; a total of 141 million vehicles have passed so far and an average of 75 thousand vehicles are passing this year.
We have exceeded the vehicle warranty by 20 percent on the Istanbul-Izmir Highway. We have exceeded the warranty by 50 percent on the Northern Marmara Highway. We estimate that the warranty number will be reached in 2025. Istanbul Airport is breaking records in air cargo transportation, flight numbers and passenger traffic. The guarantees have been exceeded and the state will receive approximately 22 billion Euros in rent,” he said.
“Close the BOT projects for 1 day and Türkiye will be paralyzed”
Minister Uraloğlu said, “The Northern Marmara Highway was criticized a lot. It was said to be “unnecessary”. Today, around 150 thousand vehicles pass through it. If we were to consider closing it for one day, all of Istanbul, even Turkey, would be paralyzed. The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge was criticized a lot, as was the Eurasia Tunnel. Today, 140 thousand vehicles pass through the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge per day. Around 70 thousand vehicles also benefit from the Eurasia Tunnel. If we close these routes for one day and direct them to the July 15 or Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridges, which are already at full capacity, it means adding 150 thousand vehicles to the 240 thousand vehicles.”
“Time, fuel savings increased efficiency…”
“The Osmangazi Bridge was also called “Unnecessary”. An average of 60 thousand vehicles pass this year. If it had not been built, the vehicles would have traveled the 100-kilometer Gulf of Izmit. Or they would have crossed with a limited number of ferries. Therefore, including the fuel and time saved in those 100 kilometers, all of them are national wealth. It is efficiency.
“All of these projects will make money for the state”
“Starting from 2028, all of these projects will be transferred to the state one by one. The state will take over and operate them or lease them again. When they are taken over, these items will fill the investment budget of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure. It will be able to develop and implement projects without burdening the treasury.”
New projects…
“A sister highway is coming to the highway that serves between Akyazı and Ankara, which also includes the Bolu Tunnel. The highway, which will cost 1 billion euros and will be 200 kilometers long, is planned to have 3 lanes in both directions. In addition, the new High Speed Train Project, which will reduce the Ankara-Istanbul journey to 80 minutes, will be completed in 2028. 52 tunnels totaling 120 kilometers will be built on the Ankara-Istanbul Super High Speed Train Line, which will be able to reach 350 kilometers speed on the 344-kilometer route.
Eskişehir-Antalya High Speed Train Project is also planned
When completed, the Istanbul-Antalya route will drop to 4 hours and 45 minutes, while the Eskişehir-Antalya route will drop to 2 hours. Other planned projects include the 293-kilometer Kırıkkale-Samsun, the 513-kilometer Samsun-Trabzon-Sarp, the 143-kilometer Çatalca-Çayırova and 192-kilometer Aksaray-Yenice High-Speed Train Lines, which are currently in the tender phase.
“We are at the center of an $11 trillion trade pipeline”
Uraloğlu said, “With a 4-hour flight time, our country is the center of 67 countries where approximately 1 billion 650 million people live, have a Gross National Product of 43 trillion 200 billion dollars and a trade volume of 11 trillion dollars. With its geopolitical location connecting three continents, it is also at a very important point for the economic and social development of European, Asian and African countries. Based on these facts, in recent years, in addition to providing multi-modal transportation connections within the country, we have been establishing uninterrupted and high-quality transportation infrastructures between continents by creating international corridors.”
Uraloğlu said, “It is predicted that the demand for transportation will double in terms of passenger numbers per km between 2020 and 2050. It is estimated that the world trade volume, which was 12 billion tons in 2020, will increase to 25 billion tons in 2030, 95 billion tons in 2050 and 150 billion tons in 2100. The number of vehicles in our country, which is currently around 26.5 million, will be around 55 million in the 2050s. We are implementing our work in light of these facts.”
Annual savings of $30 billion with an investment of $194 billion
Uraloğlu, who drew attention to the fact that the 194 billion dollars of investment contributed to approximately 1 trillion 260 thousand dollars of production, said, “We have contributed 606 billion dollars to the gross domestic product. We have contributed approximately 110 billion dollars to exports, 31.6 billion dollars to taxes and approximately 1 million people every year. If we look at the savings effect of these, we are saving approximately 30 billion dollars in all sectors.”
“High-speed train from Kapıkule to Gaziantep”
Uraloğlu, who stated that they will complete the Osmaneli-Bursa-Balıkesir High Speed Train Line in 2026, said, “We will complete our Mersin, Adana, Osmaniye, Gaziantep line in 2027. When we enter from Kapıkule, we will leave Gaziantep by high speed train. We aim to complete the 508-kilometer high speed train line that will connect Ankara to İzmir in 2028. We are also planning our railway line that will pass through the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and connect the Far East to London for the second time.
We plan to complete the first phase of our railway line that will reach the Black Sea, between Kırıkkale and Çorum, by 2028. We have completed our super-fast train project between Ankara and Istanbul. We are doing the feasibility studies for this. We will have covered the distance between Ankara and Istanbul in approximately 80 minutes with two stops. This may be ambitious for 2028, but we will hopefully make the tender for this and start the construction work for this as well,” he said.
“Southeast industrialists will reach the port via the shortest route”
Uraloğlu said, “We have planned both our railway and highway lines passing through Amanos Mountains. We aim to bring the Southeastern industrialists, especially Gaziantep, together with the port in the shortest way. And we will provide a serious expansion opportunity to the industrial zone, which is squeezed on the Iskenderun coast, behind Amanos Mountains, towards Hassa. We are trying to think and plan not only transportation but also how we can contribute to the economy and development of our country.”
Target of 112 million broadband subscribers…
Uraloğlu, who pointed out that they plan to make an investment of approximately 10 billion dollars in communication by 2028, said, “Here, we aim to increase the number of broadband subscribers to 112 million and the number of mobile subscribers to 102 million. We aim to reach every home by increasing the internet service to 100 megabits per second. At the same time, our work for 6G continues rapidly.”
$20 billion for airports
Uraloğlu, who stated that they plan to make an investment of approximately 19.5 billion dollars in airlines until 2053, said, “We aim to increase the number of airports from 57 to 61 by 2028. We have started the expansion of airports by 2028. We have prioritized Esenboğa, Antalya and Trabzon airports. In the meantime, we have put Çukurova Airport into service as we promised.”
Domestic AUS to be operational in 2026
Uraloğlu, who also stated that they developed the architecture and software of Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS), said, “We will provide IIT standardization by gathering Intelligent Transportation Systems and Cooperative Intelligent Transportation Systems under a single central software roof. In addition, we will carry out Fiber and Energy infrastructure installations in Antalya and Istanbul, where K-ITS and IIT Systems will be installed within the scope of the project. We aim to complete the project software infrastructure and field installation in 2025 and our project in 2026.”
Legislation for smart transportation is coming
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu tested the autonomous truck with Level-4 Highway Pilot Technology, which will enable driverless logistics between out-of-city logistics centers on the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge Northern Ring Motorway, equipped with Intelligent Transportation Systems technology.
Minister Uraloğlu said, “In order for autonomous vehicles to operate at optimum levels, the roads must be equipped with smart transportation systems in accordance with them. In this context, we are expanding smart transportation systems to effectively use existing road capacities in all transportation modes; to reduce travel times, increase traffic safety and contribute to the country’s economy by providing energy efficiency.”
Uraloğlu stated that they are popularizing smart transportation systems to reduce travel times, increase traffic safety and contribute to the country’s economy by effectively using existing road capacities in all modes of transportation, and said, “We are also creating legislation for autonomous driving systems where vehicles transfer data with each other and their surroundings.”
Source: www.dunya.com
