Transport
From The Report: Turkey 2015
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Turkey has easy and direct access by road, sea and, to a lesser extent, rail to markets with 1.5bn people and a combined GDP of $25trn. In 2012 Turkey handled 1.2% of global trade, and this is expected to exceed 1.5% by 2025. The 2014 budget allocated €16.72bn to transport, of which €2.04bn was earmarked for rail, almost double that going to the road network. At €3.27bn, the Marmaray project topped the list of spending in 2014. Dozens of construction projects are on the current agenda. Among them are high-speed rail links, bridges, motorways, the world’s largest airport and a 50-km channel that will transform half of Istanbul into an island. Carrying out so many grand plans will prove costly, and inevitably some will be scaled back or scrapped altogether, but judging by what Turkey has accomplished so far, many of these projects may well be realized.

This chapter contains interviews with Turgut Erkeskin, President, Association of International Forwarding and Logistics Services Providers, and Mümin Kahveci, General Manager, Istanbul Electric Tramway and Tunnel Establishments.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Turkey advancing major transportation projects with new highway, train and airport infrastructure
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The Marmaray tunnel, a rail link beneath the sea connecting Istanbul’s European and Asian districts, was a panacea for beleaguered commuters when it opened in October 2013. Plans to connect the two shores via an underwater tunnel date back to at least 1891 during the glory days of Ottoman rail, when a French engineer proposed to Sultan Abdülhamit II to build an underwater steel tunnel. However, linking the Üsküdar neighbourhood in Asia and the Seraglio Point in Europe has remained on the drawing…

Interview

Turgut Erkeskin, President, Association of International Forwarding and Logistics Service Providers (UT KAD): Interview
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Interview: Turgut Erkeskin What factors are driving logistics demand in Turkey? TURGUT ERKESKİN: The Turkish economy has made significant strides over the past 15 years and has grown into one of the largest and most dynamic in the region. Rising production and consumption, a growing population and heightened income levels have resulted in a substantial increase in the amount of goods circulating domestically, posing considerable opportunities to providers of logistics services. Furthermore, the…

Interview

Mümin Kahveci, General Manager, Istanbul Electric Tramway and Tunnel Establishments (IETT)
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Interview:Mümin Kahveci How can further investment and cooperation between the public and private sectors help improve urban transport infrastructure? MÜMINKAHVECİ: The public transportation needs of Istanbul are rising in line with population growth. Congestion in Istanbul has become an enormous challenge; in the past decade we have seen the number of cars on the streets increase drastically. The scale of inner urban traffic does not match the Ottoman structure of the city’s core…

Analysis

Turkey developing inter-city and national rail connections to improve transportation network
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Taking the train to Ankara from Istanbul used to be a leisurely affair. After a snack at Gar Lokantası, the blue-tiled restaurant inside Haydarpa şa station that was built by German engineers in 1872 and once served as the terminus for the Baghdad-Istanbul Railway, travellers boarded the train as the sun set. A clattering eight hours later, the train crawled into the capital’s main station. Now a high-speed link changes it all. Turkey has become Europe’s ninth country and the world’s 14th…