By Azernews

By Fazli Sahan

Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Ministry is going to launch the fifth-generation technology standard - 5G at Istanbul Airport on July 29, Yeni Shafak daily reports per Minister Adil Karaismailoglu.

In an interview with media representatives, Karaismailoglu made important statements about the ministry's activities.

“We have recently boosted our efforts in communication and internet activities, particularly in rural regions. We have very large activities related to 5G technologies. A cluster was established to install domestic and national 5G in Ankara. 2G will expire will soon expire. We will launch a 5G at Istanbul Airport on July 29. We will have an airport with 5G,” Karaismailoglu stressed.

The government invested $37.5 billion under the build-operate-transfer paradigm without taking a single dime out of the state's wallet. The ministry would not have been able to develop Tokat Airport, Rize-Artvin Airport, or the Komurhan Bridge if it had done it on a state budget, the minister added.

“We save seven billion hours of time and one billion liters of fuel every year as a result of our roadway improvements. The $183 billion investment made by the government had an impact of more than one trillion dollars on production and over $600 billion on national income,” the minister said.

The minister believes that every day, 200,000 vehicles traverse the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, 250,000 travel through the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, 60,000 vehicles cross the Eurasia Tunnel, and 100,000 pass the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge in Istanbul. Furthermore, 600,000 individuals utilize Marmaray on a daily basis.

“If we close these places just for one day, Istanbul will be locked. Today, the cost of the Canakkale Bridge is €2.5 billion. It would not be possible to build it for less than €3.5 billion today,” Karaismailoglu underlined.

Istanbul Airport had a ten-billion-euro investment. The government has successfully established a financial plan that will generate €22 billion in rent over the course of 25 years, the minister said.

According to him, during the holidays, the airport served 1,400 planes and 230,000 passengers and made an extra €22 million in revenue since it exceeded the number of guaranteed passengers specified in the first year it was open. The airport will both receive rent, as well as additional cash from the increasing traveler numbers.

“Istanbul needs constant investment. Especially the first need of Istanbul is the construction of public transportation and metro lines. The fleet needs to be renewed. These are the indispensable duties of the municipality. But we see the complaints and problems about Istanbul. There is a mentality that cannot run the escalators, the buses. As in all classical CHP [Republican People's Party] municipalities, there is a lot of talk, but unfortunately, we cannot see any action,” Karaismailoglu noted.

“We now have a 4,500-kilometer railway line under development throughout Turkiye. We want to bring the high-speed rail into service on the 500-kilometer Ankara-Izmir route by the end of 2025. Our citizens will be able to travel from Ankara to Izmir in around 3.5 hours. Our projects in the Ankara-Sivas line are nearing completion. We had some issues between Ankara and Kirikkale, which we resolved. Hopefully, we will be able to bring Ankara-Sivas into operation in early 2023,” he added.

The minister stressed that the Istanbul Canal is a vital project for Turkiye as a whole. With the growth in global commerce, the Istanbul Canal project becomes increasingly more significant in terms of logistics and alleviating Bosporus traffic.

“Istanbul Canal began with the creation of transit lines. We will first create these transit routes and then we will create the main tender and begin the major job. Work on the highway connector Basaksehir-Hadimkoy-Ispartakule is still ongoing and activities on the Sazlidere Bridge are also underway. We are building one of the Istanbul Canal bridges and will continue to do so as an alternate means to relieve congestion at the Mahmutbey TEM Highway toll booths. This is one of the world's largest infrastructure projects. We are also in discussions with firms which have created some of the world's largest infrastructures and maritime projects,” Karaismailoglu said.