Türkiye modernizing its border gates

ISTANBUL

Türkiye is investing in modernizing its several border gates that are used for trade widely, Trade Minister Ömer Bolat has said.

Freight traffic has increased at the border gates to Europe, which necessitates embarking on a new approach toward border crossings to manage this high volume traffic better, Bolat said, speaking at the ceremony for the inauguration of the Pazarkule crossing between Türkiye and Greece.

“By taking into account the changing conditions in trade, we are continuing to invest in renovating the border gates to speed up customs procedures. Those investments also include the build-operate-transfer model,” the minister said, adding that 13 border gates have been modernized to date.

Works are underway at the Dereköy crossing, which serves passengers and freighters traveling to Bulgari and Romania, Bolat said.

Road transport accounted for 31 percent of Türkiye’s exports last year, while the shares of sea and air transport were 59 percent and 8 percent, Bolat said, noting that road transport was responsible for 37.5 percent of shipments to the EU member countries.

More than 1.6 million commercial vehicles went through the Kapıkule, Hamzabeyli and İpsala border crossings in the northwestern province of Edirne, bordering Greece and Bulgaria, last year, up from 1.5 million vehicles in 2021, Bolat said.