Minister: Turkiye embarks on railway, communication-based investment phase

By Azernews

By Mehmet Ali Parto

Turkiye has embarked on a railway and communication-based investment phase, Yeni Shafak reports, citing Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu.

Karaismailoglu made the remarks during an opening ceremony of the 2022-2023 academic year at Istanbul Yeni Yuzyil University, where he delivered the opening lecture of the new semester, entitled "Turkey's Transportation Vision on the Axis of Logistics, Mobility, and Digitization".

Touching upon global traffic and transportation mobility, urbanization, and smart transportation systems, Karaismailoglu announced that the government will begin a railway and communication-based investment process in the near future.

While speaking about the government's communication projects in Istanbul, Karaismailoglu mentioned the Pendik-Sabiha Gokcen Airport metro line that was inaugurated on October 3.

“We will continue to make life easier for Istanbul residents and raise their living standards by investing in the Istanbul metro in the following months,” the minister stressed.

The next century will be known as the Turkish century, and the entire globe will be witnessing this process, he added.

Karaismailoglu underlined that there are four major trends that will lead communication in the future, that is, "electric vehicles, shared travel, autonomous and connected vehicles," and the Turkish government is tirelessly working in these sectors.

The minister underlined that the number of electric cars is expected to expand to 85 million in 2025 and 540 million in 2040, adding that it is very important to walk, bike, and scooter, especially within a 15-minute access distance. The government will continue to promote these modes of transportation more zealously from now on.

Furthermore, Karaismailoglu said that Turkiye will launch Turksat 6A into orbit in the near future, characterizing digitalization as "indispensable" for the country. Turkiye is one of the few nations, which sent two satellites into space during the pandemic, he underlined.

“We will launch Turksat 6A into space as a satellite produced entirely by Turkish engineers. We will be among the 10 countries represented in space with its own satellite,” Karaismailoglu said.

The first Turkish reconnaissance satellite RASAT was launched into orbit in 2011. The country launched its second satellite Gokturk-2 from the Chinese Jiuquan satellite-launching center on December 18, 2012. Currently, the satellite is used for defense purposes.

Turkiye successfully launched its new satellite Turksat 5B from Cape Canaveral Base in Florida, Yeni Shafak reported earlier.

The Turksat 5B communication satellite, considered to be the most powerful for its useful payload capacity and power values, was sent into space with the Falcon 9 rocket belonging to Space X Company.

It was added that the capacity efficiency of the Turksat 5B is at least 20 times higher than Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) class satellites. As the country's highest payload capacity satellite, Turksat 5B has a launch weight of 4.5 tons and a power capacity of 15 kilowatts.

Along with Turkey, the satellite will serve in a wide coverage area that includes the whole of the Middle East, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the Mediterranean, North and East Africa, Nigeria, South Africa, and close neighboring countries.