improving transnational transport corridors in oic member countries country report

101 Pages·2017·12.11 MB·English

IMPROVING TRANSNATIONAL TRANSPORT CORRIDORS
IN OIC MEMBER COUNTRIES
COUNTRY REPORT

IMPROVING TRANSNATIONAL TRANSPORT CORRIDORS
IN OIC MEMBER COUNTRIES
COUNTRY REPORT
NOVEMBER 2017
This report is prepared for the 33rd session of the
Standing Commi(cid:425) ee for Economic and Commercial Coopera(cid:415) on of the
Organiza(cid:415) on of Islamic Coopera(cid:415) on (COMCEC) under the coordina(cid:415) on of
Directorate General of Foreign Rela(cid:415) ons and EU Aff airs of the Ministry of
Transport, Mari(cid:415) me Aff airs and Communica(cid:415) ons (MoTMC) with valuable
contribu(cid:415) ons of Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Customs and Trade and relevant
divisions of the MoTMC.
Project Coordina(cid:415) on Team:
Çisel ASLAN, Selen GÜNEL SUSUZ, Kadriye BODUR GÜMÜŞ
Contact Details
Hakkı Turayliç Cad. No:5 Emek - Ankara / TURKEY
Tel: [phone] • Fax: [phone]
E-mail: [email protected] • www.udhb.gov.tr
FOREWORD BY THE MINISTER
Constantly increasing trade volume between developing
economies of Asia and Europe urgently necessitates the
development of an effi cient and cost-wise land connec(cid:415) vity. In
this sense, there has been a fl ourishing interest on developing
transna(cid:415) onal transport corridors globally. Governments
and par(cid:415) cularly transport policy makers have been keen on
enhancing regional integra(cid:415) on with the adjoining countries
via ins(cid:415) tu(cid:415) ng transport corridors.
Once being an essen(cid:415) al part of one of the oldest transport
corridors, the Ancient Silk Road, Turkey s(cid:415) ll stands at the
crossroads of prominent transport corridors in North-South
and East-West direc(cid:415) ons. The advantageous geographical
loca(cid:415) on of Turkey which stretches from Asia to Europe and
Russia to Africa allows it to be a regional and global hub.
Nevertheless, we know that this geographical asset should
be supported with a good infrastructural and opera(cid:415) onal
framework in order to let Turkey reach its full poten(cid:415) al. Our
transport strategy envisages providing an uninterrupted,
high quality, safe and secure transport connec(cid:415) on in Eurasia.
Along with this aim, we have been making great eff orts for
developing interna(cid:415) onal transport links; we give utmost
importance to modernize our transport network with grand
scale investments and projects with a broad perspec(cid:415) ve
on connec(cid:415) vity in our region. In line with this strategy,
we have invested 362 billion Turkish Liras in transport and
communica(cid:415) ons sectors between 2003 and 2016 and plan to
realize 200 Billion Dollars of transport investment by 2023.
In this regard, Turkey has been implemen(cid:415) ng mega projects
for comple(cid:415) on of missing links on major corridors in Eurasia
such as Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway, Edirne-Kars High Speed
Railway, Marmaray, Halkalı-Kapıkule Railway, North Marmara
Motorway and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (3rd Istanbul Bridge),
Eurasia Tunnel Project, Three-storey Great Istanbul Tunnel
Project, Gebze–Orhangazi–İzmir Motorway Project and
Rehabilita(cid:415) on of Van Lake Crossings.
I hope that this report will serve as a reference document for
all who seek to have a deeper understanding of transna(cid:415) onal
transport corridors in Eurasia and the broad OIC geography. I
would like to thank all my colleagues and the contributors for
their dedicated work to prepare this report.
Ahmet ARSLAN
Minister of Transport, Mari(cid:415) me Aff airs and Communica(cid:415) ons
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FOREWORD BY THE UNDERSECRETARY
The benefi ts off ered by transport corridors to a na(cid:415) onal
economy are incomparable to those of mere transport
infrastructure. Well-established transport corridors are among
the fundamental driving forces of regional and interna(cid:415) onal
economic growth. Development of a transport corridor would
reduce costs associated with transporta(cid:415) on, logis(cid:415) cs and
administra(cid:415) ve processes, and would lead to a substan(cid:415) al
decrease in total travelling (cid:415) me thanks to the simplifi ca(cid:415) on of
customs processes and facilita(cid:415) on of border crossings. These
cost and (cid:415) me reduc(cid:415) ons would, in turn, enhance the reliability
of transport and logis(cid:415) cs services on the corridor and lead to
a cumula(cid:415) ve improvement in trade compe(cid:415) (cid:415) veness for the
enroute countries.
The report presents Turkey’s strategies and ini(cid:415) a(cid:415) ves for
improvement of transport corridors in its region. With its
advantageous geopoli(cid:415) cal loca(cid:415) on as well as high-quality
transport infrastructure, providing an uninterrupted, safe and
secure transport connec(cid:415) on between Asia and Europe, Turkey
is an indispensable part of signifi cant interna(cid:415) onal land and
mari(cid:415) me corridors connec(cid:415) ng Asia and Europe.
Turkey adopts a corridor-oriented approach in its infrastructure
planning and in its rela(cid:415) ons with the enroute countries in order
to conceive common strategies for sustainable development
of the corridors which comprise elimina(cid:415) on of physical and
non-physical barriers, improvement of mul(cid:415) modal transport
opera(cid:415) ons and logis(cid:415) cs.
We reckon that the Organisa(cid:415) on of Islamic Coopera(cid:415) on
(OIC), as the second largest inter-governmental organiza(cid:415) on
a(cid:332) er the United Na(cid:415) ons, has an important role to play in
regional and interna(cid:415) onal transport issues. The concept of
interna(cid:415) onal transport corridors is a vital area of study for
transport and regional economics and this theme has been
per(cid:415) nently designated by COMCEC for the 33rd Ministerial
Session.
As the lead organiza(cid:415) on for regula(cid:415) on and development
of transport and the responsible ins(cid:415) tu(cid:415) on to elaborate
this study, Ministry of Transport Mari(cid:415) me Aff airs and
Communica(cid:415) ons has fi nalized this country report on the
interna(cid:415) onal transport corridors passing through Turkey with
the strong support of relevant stakeholders.
I hope that Turkey’s approach to interna(cid:415) onal corridors,
presented in this report will serve as a useful source for the
OIC family.
Suat Hayri AKA
Undersecretary
Ministry of Transport, Mari(cid:415) me Aff airs and Communica(cid:415) ons
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Considering the huge trade volume between emerging economies of Asia and Europe, it is an
urgent need to develop safe, secure and effi cient land connec(cid:415) vity as well as new intermodal
transport opportuni(cid:415) es for connec(cid:415) ng the two con(cid:415) nents. This is why the concept of transport
corridor has turned out to be a key agenda item of governments and regional and interna(cid:415) onal
organiza(cid:415) ons in the region.
The benefi ts and impacts off ered by transport corridors are incomparable to those of transport
infrastructure, alone. While transport infrastructure is the backbone of a stronger economy,
transport corridors encourage the improvement of transport and logis(cid:415) cs services and facilita(cid:415) on
of trade. In this sense, enhancement of transport corridors ensures a far more compe(cid:415) (cid:415) ve trading
for enroute countries.
In this regard, this country report aims to present an overview of Turkey’s eff orts for improvement
of transport corridors in the geography of Organiza(cid:415) on of Islamic Coopera(cid:415) on (OIC). Ranking
17th largest economy in 2016, with a high-quality transport infrastructure and advantageous
geopoli(cid:415) cal loca(cid:415) on, Turkey has long been located at the crossroads of signifi cant transport
corridors connec(cid:415) ng Asia to Europe. As a natural bridge between the two con(cid:415) nents, it provides
access to Central Asia, Russia, the Middle East, and North Africa. This geopoli(cid:415) cal posi(cid:415) on is
refl ected in the high number of interna(cid:415) onal road and rail corridors passing through the country.
Turkey is a part of signifi cant transport corridors iden(cid:415) fi ed by leading interna(cid:415) onal organiza(cid:415) ons
such as UNECE, UNESCAP, TRACECA, ECO and BSEC.
Recognizing the role of transport corridors in trade and development, Turkey embraces a corridor-
oriented approach and aims to func(cid:415) on as a logis(cid:415) cs hub in its region. With regard to the
elimina(cid:415) on of physical barriers, over the last fi (cid:332) een years, Turkey has intensifi ed its eff orts for
upgrading transport infrastructure of the country through public investments and public-private-
partnership mechanism.
Besides improvement of exis(cid:415) ng road, rail, mari(cid:415) me and avia(cid:415) on infrastructure, Turkey has been
implemen(cid:415) ng mega projects for comple(cid:415) on of missing links on major corridors such as Baku-Tbilisi-
Kars Railway, Edirne-Kars High Speed Railway, Marmaray, Halkalı-Kapıkule Railway, North Marmara
Motorway and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge (3rd Istanbul Bridge), Eurasia Tunnel Project, Three- storey
Great Istanbul Tunnel Project, Gebze–Orhangazi–Izmir Motorway Project and Rehabilita(cid:415) on of Van
Lake Crossings.
In terms of overcoming non-physical barriers to trade, facilita(cid:415) on of transport opera(cid:415) ons has
been a signifi cant element of Turkey’s trade facilita(cid:415) on polices. In this sense, Turkey is involved
in various bilateral and mul(cid:415) lateral ini(cid:415) a(cid:415) ves in the region for providing smooth and fast border
crossing services.
More importantly, Turkey adopts a “Regional Integrated Transport Corridors” perspec(cid:415) ve, which
aims to develop a comprehensive and complementary approach towards all corridors in the
region. This approach is based on making bilateral and mul(cid:415) lateral transport agreements with
enroute countries, developing coordina(cid:415) on mechanisms for fi nding prac(cid:415) cal solu(cid:415) ons to problems
of the corridors, suppor(cid:415) ng the iden(cid:415) fi ca(cid:415) on of logis(cid:415) cs and transport infrastructure needs of
corridor countries, promo(cid:415) ng Turkish private sector to improve their opera(cid:415) ons in the region and
developing mul(cid:415) modal transport and sustainable logis(cid:415) cs capacity.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Among all these eff orts, Turkey’s recent a(cid:425) empts for the development of Trans-Caspian East-
West Middle Corridor is worth-emphasizing. The Trans-Caspian East-West Middle Corridor
Ini(cid:415) a(cid:415) ve, which is based on several mul(cid:415) lateral and bilateral coopera(cid:415) on mechanisms among
Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey and Turkmenistan, aims to
provide a complementary and mul(cid:415) modal connec(cid:415) on between Asia and Europe. By the eff ec(cid:415) ve
opera(cid:415) onaliza(cid:415) on of the corridor, a railway connec(cid:415) on will be provided between Europe and
China through Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Central Asian Countries. Following the comple(cid:415) on
of Marmaray and Baku-Tbilisi- Kars railway project an uninterrupted railway connec(cid:415) on has been
established in Turkey to reach Europe.
In this context, this report is composed of four main chapters. The fi rst chapter provides an
outlook of Turkish transport sector by focusing on the current situa(cid:415) on of road, rail, mari(cid:415) me
and air transport sectors. The second chapter presents Turkey’s vision for transna(cid:415) onal transport
corridors. In the third chapter, major transport corridors iden(cid:415) fi ed by interna(cid:415) onal and regional
organiza(cid:415) ons are elaborated. Finally, the fourth chapter summarises main strategies, projects
and ins(cid:415) tu(cid:415) onal-regulatory framework of Turkey focused on the development of major transport
corridors in the Eurasia Region. These eff orts of Turkey are evaluated under four main themes
as; elimina(cid:415) on of physical barriers and non-physical barriers, and improvement of mul(cid:415) modal
transport and logis(cid:415) cs capacity of the country.
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