Minister unveils major investment plans for transport infrastructure

ISTANBUL

Turkey plans to undertake massive investments to expand its railway and highway networks as well as build new airports by 2053, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu has said.

Between 2003 and 2021, some $ 172 billion worth of investments were undertaken in five sectors, which created jobs for 17.9 million people, the minister said, speaking at the launch of the Transport and Logistics Master Plan.

The investments will amount to $ 198 billion by 2053, he added.

The investments undertaken in the past 19 years contributed some $520 billion to Turkey’s GDP, according to Karaismailoğlu.

Turkey aims to increase its share in the trade between Europe and Asia, which is more than $700 billion, Karaismailoğlu added, noting that the country targets to become a logistics center.

The planned spending on the country’s infrastructure will focus on expanding railways and building more highways, the minister said, noting that sea transport, communications, and air transport will also take their shares from those investments.

Railways in Turkey accounted for 3 percent of all freight shipments in 2019, but their share is projected to increase above 11 percent and further up to 22 percent by 2053, according to Karaismailoğlu.

He furthered that more airports, which support both the tourism industry and the country’s overall economy, will be constructed under the Master Plan in the next three decades.

“There are presently 56 airports in Turkey, and this number will increase to 61 by 2053,” Karaismailoğlu said.