By News Centre

Turkish Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uralo?lu presented the 2025 budget of the Ministry at the TBMM Planning and Budget Commission. Uralo?lu stated that the Ministry consists of 17 general directorates and 10 directorates, including 8 central, 5 related, 2 affiliated and 2 related organizations.

"We provide a total of 223,000 people with employment, including our 131,000 Ministry personnel and those working at 2,003 construction sites throughout the country," he said.

Emphasizing that the main field of activity of the ministry is to ensure human, freight and data mobility, Uralo?lu said that in the Turkish Century, we are working to be a pioneer in the world with human and environment-oriented, smart and safe integrated transportation systems.

He stated that they have increased railway transportation by reducing the annual load share in road transportation within the scope of the 2053 net zero emission target.

“As the first Ministry to calculate its corporate carbon footprint, we have achieved a carbon emission reduction of 62 million tons in our Marmaray project alone. Emission reductions from the projects will be converted into credits in carbon exchanges. In line with this vision, we are meeting with our youth, the guarantor of our future, by also cooperating closely with our universities and carrying our country into the future together," Uralo?lu said.

Uralo?lu pointed out Turkiye's strategic location that connects the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa, and said that with only a 4-hour flight distance, we are at the center of 67 countries where 1.5 billion people live and have a total Gross National Product of $51.2trl. He said that Turkiye, which is at the center of Eurasian logistics, connects China to Europe with the Middle Corridor called the New Silk Road, and we are strengthening our global competitive power with the International Development Path Corridor we have planned.

Uralo?lu stated that cargoes reach Turkiye from China via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway via the Middle Corridor to Europe via Marmaray.

"The Zangezur Corridor, which will shorten the distances between Azerbaijan and our country, will directly connect the Baku Port to Turkiye. Our international cooperation efforts continue in the Development Road project, which will carry cargo coming from China, East Asia and India via the Persian Gulf to Europe. We planned a 727-kilometer new line investment for the 2,094-kilometer railway connection passing through our country within the scope of the Development Road, and a 331-kilometer new highway investment for the 923-kilometer highway corridor," he added.

Minister Uralo?lu announced that they will start the construction of the Kars - I?d?r - Aral?k - Dilucu Railway Line and Dörtyol - Hassa Highway and Railway Connection Projects, which are the 224-kilometer Turkiye section that will provide the connection to the Zengezur Corridor.

He noted that they continue to plan new railway projects with the aim of expanding and developing railways.

"The Ankara-Istanbul Super High Speed ??Train Project is 344 kilometers long and we will reduce the travel time to 80 minutes with our trains that will reach a speed of 350 kilometers per hour. High-capacity passenger and freight transportation will be provided between Asia and Europe with the Northern Marmara High Speed??Train Line. Sabiha Gökçen and Istanbul Airports will be connected to each other, thus strengthening the connection between two important transportation centers," he said.

Minister Uralo?lu stated that they have started the project work for the Samsun-Sarp High Speed ??Train Line and added that the Divri?i-Kars-Border Railway Line Rehabilitation will completely modernize the line. Passenger and freight demand will be met in the north-south corridor with the Aksaray-Uluk??la-Yenice High Speed??Train Line. We will soon start the construction of the K?r?kkale (Delice)-Çorum section of the K?r?kkale-Çorum-Samsun High Speed??Train Line, which will connect Ankara to the Black Sea by high speed train.

“Investments reached $280.6bln indicating that the investments made under the AK Party government between 2002 and 2024 reached $280.6bln. We increased the share of railway investments in project size from 33 percent in 2013 to 53 percent in 2023 and 55 percent in 2024. We will make an investment of ?2.3 trl in 2,667 projects in our investment portfolio. In 2024, an investment appropriation of ?351bln was allocated for all sectors of our Ministry. We completed 50 projects with a total investment amount of ?112 bln in 28 provinces and offered them to the service of our citizens. We proposed our 2025 investment proposal as ?482 bln, an increase of 26.9 percent compared to the previous year," he underscored.

Minister Uralo?lu also touched on regarding the railway sector and said that a total of 92 million passengers have been transported to date with the High-Speed ??Trains we have brought to Turkiye. He noted that they aim to increase the length of the railway line, which has reached 13,919 kilometers, to 17,287 kilometers in 2028 and 28,590 kilometers in 2053.

Uralo?lu underlined that as the 8th country in the world to start operating high-speed trains in 2009, they have brought 11 provinces directly together with high-speed trains with the Ankara-Eski?ehir-?stanbul, Ankara-Konya-Karaman, Ankara-Sivas lines.

The minister reminded that they have connected two continents with an undersea railway thanks to Marmaray in urban rail systems.

"1.2 billion passengers have used Marmaray to date. One sixth of the world's population is easy to say. Ba?kentray serves an average of 65 thousand passengers with 138 trips per day, ?ZBAN serves an average of 230 thousand passengers with 225 trips per day, and GAZ?RAY serves an average of 7 thousand passengers with 98 trips per day," he said.

Uralo?lu also shared data on urban rail systems put into service in Istanbul.

"Approximately 41 million passengers were served with the Pendik-Sabiha Gökçen Airport Metro, 13 million passengers with the Istanbul Airport-Gayrettepe Metro Line, and 7 million passengers with the Ba?ak?ehir-Çam and Sakura Hospital-Kaya?ehir Metro Line. We have carried 14 million passengers with the Bak?rköy-Bahçelievler-Kirazl? Metro, which we put into service in February 2024, since the day it was opened," Uralo?lu said.

The Minister also reminded that they brought the historical peninsula together with modern rail systems with an environmentally friendly approach with the Sirkeci-Kazl?çe?me Line and added that provided access to Istanbul Airport on the north-south axis with a second metro line.

“We are also expanding urban rail systems in other cities besides Istanbul. In Ankara, we provided an uninterrupted connection between the AKM-Gar-K?z?lay metro and the Keçiören metro to K?z?lay. In Kocaeli, we brought the city hospital together with the tram line. We have provided transportation to 5.5 million passengers to date with our Kayseri-Anafartalar tram line, where we use domestic and national vehicles. We will complete the Bursa Emek-YHT-?ehir Hastanesi Metro, which we put into partial service in 2024, in 2026," he said.

Minister Uralo?lu underlined that they have achieved liberalization in the railway transportation sector and noted that in order to increase the use of railways in the logistics sector, they will increase the length of the current connection lines, which are 439 kilometers, to 608 kilometers by 2028.

Uralo?lu also shared data on ongoing railway projects and continued his words as follows:

"We plan to complete our 3,092-kilometer high-speed train line, which is currently ongoing, by 2028. Of these; thanks to the Ankara-Izmir high-speed railway line, the current line length of 824 kilometers will be reduced to 505 kilometers, and the travel time of 14 hours will be reduced to approximately 3.5 hours. With the 312-kilometer Mersin-Adana-Osmaniye and Gaziantep high-speed train line, the travel time of 6.5 hours will be reduced to 2 hours and 15 minutes. On the Band?rma-Osmaneli High-Speed ??Train line, the Bursa-Osmaneli section will be put into service at the end of 2025, and the Band?rma-Bursa section will be put into service in 2028. When the project is completed, Ankara-Bursa and Bursa-Istanbul will be 2 hours

It will be 15 minutes. With the 229-kilometer Halkal?-Kap?kule High Speed ??Train Line, passenger travel time will decrease from 4 hours to 1.5 hours and freight transportation time will decrease from 6.5 hours to 3.5 hours. The current line capacity will increase 4-fold."

Uralo?lu stated that the Yerköy – Kayseri High Speed ??Train Line, which is integrated with the Ankara-Sivas high speed railway, will reduce the travel time between Ankara and Kayseri from 7 hours and 47 minutes to 2 hours, and that they are continuing the construction of the 135-kilometer Karaman-Uluk??la high speed train project, which is the continuation of the Konya-Karaman high speed train project.

Uralo?lu, who stated that the construction work preparations for the Filyos Port and Filyos Industrial Zone Connection Line connection, which will serve the Black Sea natural gas reserve area and play a critical role in the development of the region, are ongoing.

"With the aim of increasing the use of railways in the logistics sector, we planned the connection line connections of the port, industry and free zones in the Çukurova Region. We prioritize the design and production of all rail system vehicles in the railway sector with national and local means," he said.

Stating that they have increased the capacity by modernizing TÜRASA? vehicle production facilities in line with the needs, he said that they are also implementing urban rail system projects within the scope of our railway investments and 434 kilometers of the 1,115-kilometer urban rail system line throughout the country has been built by the Ministry.

Sharing examples from ongoing highway projects, Uralo?lu continued his words as follows:

"We aim to complete our 45-kilometer Nakka?-Ba?ak?ehir project, which is part of the Northern Marmara Motorway, in 2026. With the Sar?yer-Kilyos Tunnel, travel time to Sar?yer will decrease from 35 minutes to 5 minutes. 404 kilometers of the 440-kilometer Mediterranean Coastal Road between Mersin and Antalya has been completed. We continue our work. We have started the construction of our Ankara-K?r?kkale-Delice Motorway and Antalya-Alanya Motorway projects." Minister Uralo?lu also announced that the Central Anatolian Motorway, an important project that will connect the Northern Marmara Motorway to Ankara, has been included in the plans.”

Stating that Turkiye rose from 5th place in Europe in 2019 to 3rd place in 2023 and from 10th place to 7th place in the world in terms of total airline passenger traffic, Uralo?lu said, "Istanbul, Sabiha Gökçen, Antalya, Esenbo?a, Adnan Menderes and Dalaman Airports have reinforced our country's strong position in aviation infrastructure with their success in European and world rankings. We increased the number of domestic flight destinations from 26 in 2003 to 58 in 2024 and are increasing the number of domestic flight frequencies by 10 percent in 2025."

Minister Uralo?lu stated that while they fly to 60 destinations in 50 countries, they have added 287 new destinations to the flight network, bringing it to 347 destinations in 131 countries, and said, "In addition, in our country, which has become one of the world's leading transit centers for airlines, we have increased the number of countries with which we have signed Air Transportation Agreements from 81 to 175 after 22 years." Minister Uralo?lu also announced that 50 passenger and environment-friendly airports have achieved significant success by earning certification in the Airports Council International's Airport Carbon Accreditation Program.

Stating that they have developed software that reduces external dependency in critical systems, Uralo?lu said, "We have started using our local and national Air Traffic Monitoring software ?RADE, which reduces external dependency in critical systems, at our Çukurova and Atatürk Airports. We have created vertiport areas suitable for the use of VTOL and fixed-wing aircraft with our 14 Air Campuses. The number of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles has reached 79 thousand, UAV Pilot License ownership has reached 1 million 600 thousand, and in this direction, we have started the UAV Tracking and Traffic Management System Project for the safe and secure management of UAVs."

Minister Uralo?lu also provided information about the completed airport projects and said, "We opened Istanbul Airport 1st Stage 1st Phase on October 29, 2018, Rize Artvin Airport on May 14, 2022, Sabiha Gökçen Airport 3rd Stage works are ongoing and the 2nd runway on December 25, 2023, Turkiye's First Local and National Surveillance Radar in December 2023, Kayseri Airport Terminal Building and Apron on February 3, 2024, and Çukurova International Airport on August 10, 2024."

Speaking about the ongoing investments in the airline sector, Minister Uralo?lu continued his words as follows:

"We are increasing the capacity of Antalya Airport to 82 million passengers and Esenbo?a Airport to 30 million passengers by building a 3rd runway. We aim to complete the Malatya Airport New Terminal Building with an annual capacity of 2.5 million passengers in 2025. We are implementing the Hatay Airport's PAT Fields Repair and Development project. We will renew the Cappadocia Airport terminal building and build a new terminal building of 10,650 m² and a new terminal building of approximately 3,400 m² for Siirt Airport. We will also put our Yozgat and Bayburt-Gümü?hane airports into service in 2026. The first stage of our Trabzon New Airport project is progressing rapidly."

Minister Uralo?lu stated that they have implemented all stages of the shipbuilding life cycle in Turkiye and said, "We carry out design, production, operation, maintenance and recycling processes with modern technologies. I would like to state that we are one of the few countries that can do this. For our rights and interests in the Blue Homeland, we are carrying out our Eastern Mediterranean Ship Traffic Services Project in the TRNC in cooperation with HAVELSAN. With the Blue Economy and Marine Area Planning, we aim to obtain maximum benefit from solar, wind energy, underground resources and fishing activities in our seas. We are Rejuvenating our National Maritime Trade Fleet! We have expanded the incentive for new shipbuilding by increasing the tonnage of ships to be scrapped from 5 thousand gross tons to 50 thousand gross tons."