'As a ministry, we have invested approximately 290 billion dollars in the last 23 years'

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that they initiated major transformations in the transport sector in the Turkish Century and that they will continue them, and said, "As a ministry , we have invested approximately 290 billion dollars in our country in the last 23 years in the field of transport and communication. We have tried to reach every part of our country from east to west, north to south."

Minister Uraloğlu, in his speech at the Bab-ı Ali Meetings, pointed out the importance of the event and expressed his pleasure in being present at the meeting. Stating that in a globalizing world, transportation corridors and transit transportation constitute the backbone of economic development, global trade and cooperation between countries, Uraloğlu said that we are experiencing a period in which trade is accelerating, borders are being crossed and transit transportation and logistics efficiency are increasing.

Uraloğlu stated that they, as the Ministry, are working to shape the "Turkish Century" with transportation corridors and transit transportation, which are the key to global trade, and noted the following:

"Turkey is a natural bridge in the east-west corridor between Asia and Europe, and it is also at an important point in the north-south corridors extending from the Caucasus to Africa. We can go to 67 countries with just a 4-hour flight, and these 67 countries have a Gross National Product of approximately 51 trillion dollars, and the annual trade volume here is approximately 25 trillion dollars . Throughout history, the most important leg of international trade has been the trade between Europe and Asia, especially the Far East Asia. The east-west axis, which was called the Silk Road in the past, is now the corridor we call the middle corridor. As Turkey; we are trying to further strengthen our country's economic and geopolitical status with alternative international corridors such as the Development Road project."

Providing information about the work carried out so far within the scope of the development of the middle corridor, Uraloğlu said that they have implemented mega projects such as Marmaray, Eurasia Tunnel, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Osmangazi Bridge, 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, Northern Marmara Motorway, Istanbul-Izmir Motorway, Ankara-Niğde Motorway, Aydın-Denizli Motorway, Istanbul Airport, and Filyos Port.

"We have equipped our country with divided roads, highways, airports and high-speed railway lines," said Uraloğlu, adding that the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line, which opened on October 30, 2017, has an important place in the field of railway freight transportation between Asia and Europe.

Uraloğlu pointed out that the work on the Zangezur Corridor was continuing and stated that with this corridor, Turkey would be directly connected to the Caspian Sea, Baku, in other words, to the Turkish world.

"The Development Road project is finished, we are working on the building model"

Minister Uraloğlu pointed out that work was continuing on the Development Road project, which will carry cargo from China, East Asia and India to Europe via the Persian Gulf, and said, "With this corridor, we are talking about a corridor that will go all the way to Kapıkule with a line of approximately 2,092 kilometers that will pass through our country. The project is finished, we are working on the financing and construction model."

Referring to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's words, "Politics means producing work for the country and serving the nation," Uraloğlu underlined that they also work with this understanding.

Uraloğlu stated, "As a ministry, we have invested approximately 290 billion dollars in our country in the field of transportation and communication in the last 23 years. We have tried to reach every part of our country from east to west, north to south."

"We did all the work with the authority and taxes given by our nation"

Providing information about highway works in Turkey in his speech, Uraloğlu said that the length of divided roads, which was 6,101 kilometers in 2002, has reached 29,730 kilometers today, and while only 6 provinces were connected by divided roads in 2002, this number has increased to 77 today.

Uraloğlu informed the participants about the work done in areas such as highways, bridges, viaducts, the number of vehicles and traffic density in Turkey, and the decrease in traffic deaths, and stated that they have also implemented many mega projects.

Uraloğlu said, "We did all these works with the authority and taxes given by our nation, so we do not see ourselves as having the luxury of reproaching anyone for these services, but we used our authorities correctly. With these investments and mega projects, we have strengthened our road network and ensured global integration. Today, as Türkiye, we operate in international road transportation to nearly 70 countries."

"We have started to make certain moves on the railways and we must continue to do so"

Minister Uraloğlu informed the participants about the work done in the fields of railways, airways and maritime transport and the point reached, and said, "We have started to make certain moves in the railways, we must definitely continue them."

Uraloğlu reported that the number of active airports open to commercial flights, which was 26 in 2002, has increased to 58 today, and that while there were flights to 60 destinations in 50 countries on international lines, this number has increased to 351 destinations in 132 countries.

Uraloğlu stated that Istanbul Airport is strengthening its position as a global transfer hub day by day and announced that they will put into service the 'Simultaneous Independent Triple Runway Operations' application, which will enable 3 aircraft to land and take off simultaneously on 3 parallel runways to be implemented at Istanbul Airport for the first time in Europe, on April 17.

"We have 67 million 300 thousand registered users in our e-government application"

Uraloğlu, who stated that important work is being carried out in the field of communication, said, "We currently have 96.4 million broadband internet subscribers, and the number of our mobile subscribers is close to 95 million. We have 67 million 300 thousand registered users in our e-government application and 1,087 of our institutions offer a total of 8,381 services to our citizens via e-government."

Uraloğlu concluded his speech by reminding that the 5G tender will be held this year, saying, "In the Turkish Century, we have initiated major transformations in the transportation sector and we will continue them. In this transformation, we will make the best use of the opportunities offered by technology, implement smart transportation systems and strive to use our country's resources efficiently."