📩 19/09/2023 14:05
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu stated that they carried Turkey forward with divided roads, highways, mega projects and smart transportation systems and said, "With a balanced investment strategy, we have established a fast and safe road infrastructure that will direct the transportation systems of the future and equip them with smart and autonomous technologies." .
Minister Uraloğlu, as the Ministry, in the 'Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and Action Plan' that they have implemented with the basic approaches of the European Union such as the holistic development-oriented vision, the European Green Deal, the Paris Climate Agreement and the European Climate Law; sustainable and smart transportation, green shipping and green port practices; He said that the goals are to reduce fuel consumption and emissions by developing railway transportation and expanding the use of micro mobility vehicles.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu attended the 'ASECAP Days Summit' organized by the European Toll Road Infrastructure Operators in Istanbul. Speaking here, Minister Uraloğlu stated that Turkey is in an effective position at the center of the geography formed by Central Asia and said, “With a 4-hour flight time from our country, we can reach 1 countries where approximately 650 billion 11 million people live and have a trade volume of 67 trillion dollars. It has a very important geostrategic location, connecting three continents: Asia, Africa and Europe. It is simultaneously a European, Asian, Balkan, Caucasian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Black Sea country, both with its geographical location and historical continuity. And undoubtedly, Türkiye is the starting point of Europe. The development road project that will connect the Persian Gulf to Europe via Turkey, which has been on our agenda especially recently, is a very important project for all of us. "And I believe that the realization of this project will make our partnership with the European Union even more important and will reinforce the fact that there is no international trade corridor without Turkey," he said.
WE HAVE COVERED SIGNIFICANT DISTANCES IN THE LAST 21 YEARS
Emphasizing that they have made significant progress in large-scale projects requiring advanced technology in the last 21 years, Uraloğlu said, “We are proud of taking our country ahead of the curve with divided roads, highways, mega projects and smart transportation systems. Following the 15 July Martyrs Bridge and Fatih Sultan Mehmet suspension bridges, which have been serving our citizens on the Bosphorus for years, we have implemented the Northern Marmara Highway and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge projects, which are among the most important prestige projects of our country. Under the Bosphorus, we built the Eurasia Tunnel for road passage and Marmaray for railway passage. Izmir via Istanbul and Turkey's other major industrial cities, Kocaeli, Bursa and Manisa; We opened the 426 km Istanbul-Izmir Highway, which has a high standard and uninterrupted connection and includes the Osmangazi Bridge. "As part of our Malkara Çanakkale Highway Project, we built the world's largest mid-span 1915 Çanakkale Bridge on the Dardanelles," he said.
WE ENSURE THAT INVESTMENTS ARE REALIZED IN A MUCH SHORTER TIME
Stating that Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects are a model implemented by 135 countries around the world, Uraloğlu said, “This model, which first started with the construction of the Göcek Tunnel in Turkey, has become known as the 'Turkish Model' in the world thanks to the successful large transportation projects implemented over time. started. With the PPP model, we enabled investments to be realized in a much shorter time, with private sector opportunities and financing, without using public resources, in the realization of projects requiring advanced technology and high financial resources. We use the private sector's ability to make quick decisions and use advanced technology during the investment realization and operation stages. We complete projects that take between 7 and 20 years in less than 5 years with the PPP model. In these projects; By bringing together private sector dynamism, public experience and financial support from international financial institutions, we provided risk sharing and quickly implemented our projects. "In addition, our PPP projects have the capacity to generate income for the state in the medium and long term," he said.
WE CARE ABOUT THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Stating that climate change affects daily life and also causes negative economic consequences, Uraloğlu said, “As the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, we care about the negative effects of the climate crisis on our country and our world. Our projects are environmentally friendly and do not affect ecological life; We make sure that it is aimed at protecting and developing. Our vision focused on holistic development has many common denominators with the fundamental approaches of the European Union, such as the European Green Deal, the Paris Climate Agreement and the European Climate Law. In our 'Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy and Action Plan' that we have implemented in this context; sustainable and smart transportation, green shipping and green port practices; We included the goals of reducing fuel consumption and emissions by improving railway transportation and expanding the use of micro mobility vehicles. We realize our investments in parallel with our green transformation vision. With our 2053 net zero emission target, we plan to reduce road transportation from 72 percent to 57 percent and increase railway freight transportation from 5 percent to 22 percent. "In this way, we will achieve a significant reduction in carbon emissions," he said.
ALL POSSIBILITIES OF TRAFFIC ENGINEERING ARE BENEFITED
Noting that they have established a fast and safe road infrastructure that will direct the transportation systems of the future with a balanced investment strategy and equip them with smart and autonomous technologies, Uraloğlu said, “We are creating newly developing legislation and infrastructures for autonomous driving systems in which vehicles transfer data with each other and their environment. For example, all subsystems on the Malkara-Çanakkale Highway and especially the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge are integrated with the Armored Fiber Optic Cable Data Network. Again, transportation systems with the highest standards in the world are used on the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and the Northern Marmara Highway. "Intelligent transportation systems and all the possibilities of traffic engineering are used to improve processes such as increasing traffic-road safety and the healthy functioning of toll collection systems," he said.
IRF WORLD CONGRESS WILL BE HELD IN ISTANBUL IN 2024
Stating that they are already experiencing the excitement of holding the Geneva-based IRF World Congress, which is held every 4 years, in Istanbul in 2024, Uraloğlu said, “As you know, IRF aims to develop roads and road networks that provide sustainable mobility with its presence in five continents. It promotes safer, more environmentally friendly and sustainable road transportation and mobilization. IRF World Congresses have been bringing together the leading representatives of the highway sector as factors that enable growth and development for nearly 70 years. "The event, which will be accompanied by a major exhibition, will provide a unique platform that supports thought leadership, business development, education and generally successful partnerships in the industry."