Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced that they started working to bring a new airport to Trabzon and said, “By the end of the year, we will complete the feasibility studies of the new 3 thousand 240 meter long runway and the new terminal building of 10 thousand square meters with a capacity of 110 million passengers. At the moment, we have started the construction of the structures that should be done primarily at our airport," he said.
Uraloğlu stated that 40 highway projects with a project cost of 23 billion are currently continuing in Trabzon and said, “Our work on the 28 km Kanuni Boulevard, which will relieve urban traffic, continues at full speed. We are planning to put Boztepe Tunnel and Viaduct into service. We aim to complete the entire project in 2024," he said.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu was welcomed with flowers by citizens and party members at Trabzon Airport, his hometown, where he went to visit and make inspections. Minister Uraloğlu attended the Provincial Coordination Meeting after visiting Governor Aziz Yıldırım in his office.
Speaking at the Provincial Coordination Meeting, Minister Uraloğlu noted that, as the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, major investments have been made in transportation and communication infrastructure in the last 21 years, and Trabzon has also been reconstructed with giant projects. Minister Uraloğlu, who announced that approximately 78 billion lira has been invested so far for Trabzon's transportation and communication infrastructure, said, “As in our entire country, we continue to reconstruct Trabzon from all over with huge investments. The amount of investments we have made for Trabzon's transportation and communication infrastructure in the last 21 years is approximately 78 billion liras. Trabzon had only 2003 kilometers of divided roads until 56, we reached 184 kilometers by making 240 kilometers more. 89 kilometers of their roads were covered with BSK, we increased it to 488 kilometers. In 2007, we completed the Black Sea Coastal Road, which turned into a snake story that did not end for years. There is movement from Samsun to Sarp Border Gate via the Black Sea Coastal Road. We have completed many roads providing transportation from north to south in Trabzon. "We continue to work on some of them," he said.
40 PROJECTS WORTH 23 BILLION CONTINUE
Stating that 40 highway projects are currently ongoing throughout Trabzon with a project cost of approximately 23 billion, Minister Uraloğlu said, “Undoubtedly, one of our most important ongoing highway projects is our work on Kanuni Boulevard Road. As you know, Kanuni Boulevard is a project that directly concerns the solution of the congestion in Trabzon city traffic. We are constructing the Kanuni Boulevard Road, which is 28 kilometers long, in BSK coated divided road standard. With the work carried out so far, we have opened 28 km of the 17,6 km Kanuni Boulevard, 17 km of the 9,4 km development connection roads and 17,9 km of the 11,2 km intersection branches. Currently, our construction work continues on the 2 km section of Kanuni Boulevard between Yenicuma-4 Junction - Çukurçayır Junction and the 1 km Değirmendere connection. We plan to put Boztepe Tunnel and viaduct into service. We aim to complete the entire project in 2024. Our construction work continues on the 7 km section between the 17th and 10th km of the Araklı-Bayburt Road, which provides access to Bayburt via our Araklı district. "As you know, we have started our work on the Trabzon Southern Ring Road," he said.
SOUTH RING ROAD WILL BE REALIZED IN 3 SECTIONS
Stating that they plan to pass 43,8 km of the Southern Ring Road, which consists of a total of 35,8 km, with 15 tunnels and 2,1 km with 14 viaducts, Uraloğlu said, “We will implement it in three parts. "We continue the excavation and support work to reach the T-16,5 Tunnel portal at the beginning of the project, where the Ring Road separates from the Black Sea Coastal Road in the 1st section, which is 1 km long," he said.
SAMSUN-SARP RAILWAY PROJECT WORKS ARE STARTING
Noting that the railway project works, which Trabzon has been eagerly waiting for for years, have started, Minister Uraloğlu said, “While highway investments continue in Turkey, we have entered a period of investment, especially railway-oriented. Among the plans, Trabzon is in the middle of these investments. Samsun-Sarp railway and its center is Trabzon. We will start the project work of the planned railway with a total length of 513 kilometers. Again, we are working with our Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality within our Trabzon Rail System Line Project.
IT BECAME THE AIRPORT OF RECORDS
Minister Uraloğlu said, “Trabzon Airport has become one of the busiest airports in our country. It is a very important success that it ranks 7th in the number of domestic passengers and 10th in the number of international passengers. In 2022, it hosted approximately 3 million 185 thousand passengers in total domestic and international flights. This year, it hosted approximately 2 million 500 thousand passengers as of the end of August. We predict that our number of passengers will reach 4 million by the end of the year. Because we observe that there is a serious increase in tourists in Trabzon. Our Trabzon has now become a center of attraction in terms of tourism, with its unique nature where green and blue coexist, and its historical and cultural assets. Our visitors to the city visit Uzungöl, Sümela Monastery, Sera Lake, Çal Cave, Şahinkaya, Boztepe, Ganita and Hagia Sophia Mosque. A large number of tourists from European countries come to Trabzon, which has direct flights from 12 countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, France and Germany, especially the Gulf countries. According to our current data, we have approximately 2023 thousand guests in terms of foreign tourists in the first 7 months of 400. There was a 2022 percent increase in the number of foreign tourists compared to the 7 months of 79. Based on the 2023-month period of 7, we have 740 thousand guests, both domestic and foreign. When we take the average of last year as a basis, there is a 43 percent increase in this. In line with our 2053 vision, we will maximize the benefits of tourism to the region in order to make Trabzon a brand city. For this reason, we started to work to bring a new airport to our Trabzon. I hope this airport will lead to an increase in the number of tourists coming to Trabzon and tourism revenues. At the moment, we have started the construction of the structures that should be done primarily at our airport. We will add two fixed passenger bridges and bellows to the existing domestic terminal building. Especially the new international arrivals terminal and the CIP building were urgent. By the end of the year, we will complete the feasibility studies of the new runway with a length of 3 meters and the new terminal building of 240 thousand square meters with a capacity of 10 million passengers. Then we will start the construction process. And no doubt, when all these works are completed, it will be a very valuable work that will serve Trabzon for many years.”
WE SEALED THE ZİGANA TUNNEL
Minister Uraloğlu said, “With the New Zigana tunnel, we have literally put a seal on the route where many works such as construction and improvement have been carried out for nearly two centuries. We built the 14,5 km long New Zigana Tunnel with double tubes, connecting Trabzon to Bayburt, Aşkale and Erzurum via Gümüşhane. More than 880 thousand vehicles have passed through our New Zigana Tunnel since the day it was opened. The new Zigana Tunnel has been one of the proud and proud projects of Turkish engineering. Again, with the Maçka-Karahava section becoming a divided road, the standard of the road extending from Trabzon to Erzurum, Ağrı and the Iranian border has also increased. Thus, a smooth flow of traffic on the route to the centers and ports on the Black Sea coast has been ensured.”