Turkish Forum

Tag: Binali Yıldırım

  • Turkey needs to go digital, experts say

    Turkey needs to go digital, experts say

    DANIEL LANYON

    ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

    Bridget Cosgrave, director general of ‘DigitalEurope,’ a pan- European organization promoting e-business, says Turkey should focus more on developing its infrastructure.

    Developing a “Digital Turkey” is essential for the country’s future economic growth and development, according to participants in a conference held in Istanbul on Tuesday.

    The conference, organized by “Finans Dünyası” magazine, was titled “Building Tomorrow’s Digital Agenda Today: EU 2020 Digital Agenda and Turkey 2023.” The two dates refer to targets set by the EU and Turkey for a set of economic and social reforms, including enhancing the function of information communication technology, or ICT.

    The event brought together policy makers and senior representatives from the ICT industry in Turkey who keenly concurred on the importance of ICT as a driver of economic growth and the need for Turkey to become “more digital.”

    “We have to enable our citizens on a digital platform and become an informatics society,” said Professor Hasan Alkaş from the European Commission Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, ICT for Competitiveness and Innovation.

    Infrastructure development

    Bridget Cosgrave, Director General of “DigitalEurope,” a pan- European organization promoting e-business as a method to combat environmental problems and boost growth, urged the development of ICT infrastructure, openness and trust toward the internet, e-skills and more research and development activity.

    Turkey currently has 35 million internet users, approximately 45 percent of the population. The EU average is 65.3 percent.

    “These figures show we have not achieved our potential,” said Levent Kızıltan, vice chairman of the Turkish Informatics Industry Association, or TÜBİSAD.

    The issue of underinvestment in the industry was discussed, as legal obstacles, high taxation, and insufficient R&D budgets were cited as problems blocking Turkey’s digital development.

    “Turkey is not considered an ICT country like Israel, Egyp or Ireland. We must show the world it can be,” said Mustafa Çağan, deputy general manager at Microsoft Turkey.

    Alkaş emphasized the problems of high taxation and legal obstacles slowing investment. “Investment is critical. We must get rid of anything that hampers investment,” he said.

    Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım was also at the event. The minister emphasized the need “for a more simple market structure, openness of priorities and to bring stakeholders together.”

    Cosgrave warned against discouraging growth in the software market with an indirect tax of copyright levies. “A better solution is to encourage demand, which will build up business,” she said.

  • İstanbul’s air traffic will be eased by new airport

    İstanbul’s air traffic will be eased by new airport

    The Turkish Transportation Minister has announced a third airport in İstanbul will be constructed on the European side and that it will have a yearly passenger capacity of 60 million.

    Passengers waiting at the İstanbul Atatürk’s Airport international flight terminal. Currently, the two airports in İstanbul are not enough to reduce the density in the air traffic.
    Passengers waiting at the İstanbul Atatürk’s Airport international flight terminal. Currently, the two airports in İstanbul are not enough to reduce the density in the air traffic.

    Speaking to the Anatolia news agency on Monday, Minister Binali Yıldırım said the civil aviation sector in Turkey has witnessed crucial developments in recent years that have resulted in increased density of air traffic across Turkey and especially in İstanbul. He noted that there are currently two operating airports in İstanbul — the İstanbul Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen airports — and they are working on a third airport to be constructed in İstanbul.

    Yıldırım underlined that the next airport will be constructed on the European side, although they have not decided on the exact area yet. “The new airport in İstanbul will have a capacity of at least 60 million passengers-per-year. There will be at least two independent landing fields, and it is expected to be one of the most important airports in Europe. It will be tendered with a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model and will cost approximately $5 billion, including the connecting highways to this airport,” said the Minister. He added that Sabiha Gökçen Airport had decreased the density of Atatürk Airport and with the planned third airport İstanbul’s problems with air traffic congestion will be significantly eased.

    Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım noted that the two operating airports in İstanbul are not enough to meet the air traffic demand of the major Turkish city and announced that a third airport will be contstructed in İstanbul, on the European side

    Separately, Yıldırım also touched upon unfinished subway projects in İstanbul and Ankara. He said the responsibility for the projects has recently been transferred from local authorities to the Transportation Ministry, but they are waiting approval from the cabinet. Yıldırım said the Transportation Ministry and the Transportation Ministry’s General Directorate of Railroads, Ports and Airports Construction (DLH) will continue with the unfinished subway projects in the two major cities in Turkey. “It is not definite but we, as the ministry, think that the same construction companies will continue subway construction in İstanbul, while in Ankara we will work with the companies that we would like to continue and otherwise tender the subway project again. We would like to complete these projects as soon as possible and give priority to subway projects. It is expected that subway construction will be completed in two to two-and-a-half year’s time” said the minister.

    Answering a question regarding the Sürat Railway Project, Yıldırım noted the project started in the year 1974 and that only 60 kilometers of rail have been constructed since then. He said the Sürat Railway Project’s aim was to connect Ankara with İstanbul passing through the Ayaş Tunnel and that the total length of the railway was estimated as 260 kilometers. “We are not considering completing this project as well but are thinking of rehabilitating the Ankara-Ayaş part of the project in such a way that trains could travel at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour. This rehabilitation will cost approximately TL 150 million, and in this way, we could at least make use of the completed part of the project and spend less money,” said Yıldırım.

  • Minister confirms plans for third Istanbul airport

    Minister confirms plans for third Istanbul airport

    Turkish Minister of Transport and Communication Binali Yıldırım has confirmed that a third airport is scheduled to be built on the European side of Istanbul, Anatolia news agency reported Monday.

    “The new airport will serve an annual capacity of 60 million passengers and have two separate tarmacs,” Yıldırım told Anatolia, adding that it would be a build-operate-transfer project, a business model that gives building contractors the right to manage new facilities for a certain amount of time before transferring operations to the government.

    While Anatolia reported Monday that the exact location of the $5 billion project is yet to be decided, Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş told daily Hürriyet earlier this month the airport would be built in Silivri, on the northern outskirts of the city.

    Following the mayor’s statements, some parts of Silivri have started increasing in value, daily Vatan reported Monday. The project is expected to be built on an area of roughly 20,000 square meters, the daily reported.

    “This will be among the most prominent airports in Europe and will ease Istanbul’s air traffic congestion,” Yıldırım said.

    The minister said civil aviation in Istanbul is developing quickly, with Atatürk Airport on the European side of the city shouldering a major proportion of the traffic, while Sabiha Gökçen Airport on the Anatolian side is also receiving an increasing amount of traffic.

    Ministry handles subways

    The Transport and Communication Ministry is also set take control of the expansion of both Ankara’s and Istanbul’s subway systems from local municipalities, Yıldırım said, adding that Cabinet planned to formally announce the decision “soon.”

    The Railway, Ports and Airports Authority, or DLH, a sub-directorate in the ministry responsible for the construction of railways, ports and airports, will complete the expansion of the two cities’ subway infrastructure in conjunction with private companies.

    “In Istanbul, we will carry on with the current contractor, while in Ankara we will continue to cooperate with those eager to make new bids for lines the current contractors are reluctant to commit to,” he said.

    “We want to finalize these lines as soon as possible, giving priority to half-finished projects and lines vital for public transportation. It will take two or two and a half years to complete all ongoing subway projects,” he said.