The Council of Executive Directors of the World Bank approved funding in the amount of 660 million US dollars to support Turkey’s efforts to expand electric railway transportation.
According to the World Bank, the project for the development of the Railway of Eastern Turkey on the Middle Corridor will help expand and modernize one of the oldest parts of the existing limited railway network of Turkey.
The efforts of Turkey to expand electric railway transport will help to more effectively move goods around the country, maintain export, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, should be from the message.
as part of the project between the message between the Divrieg of the Sivas province and the province of Kars, where diesel trains are currently running, will be expanded due to the commissioning of a 660-kilometer of fully electric and modern railway line.
The implementation of the project will take four years, it will cover four provinces, which will ensure the well -being of about 600 thousand people living along the railway route, and will also provide significant support to local companies and agricultural enterprises.
The report noted that after the implementation of the project, the carrying capacity of the railway will increase from about 750 thousand tons to 20 million tons per year.
The financial organization reminded that approximately 95 percent of cargo transportation in Turkey is carried out by road.
The project will reduce the time of transportation and costs of logistics, as well as improve the possibilities of communication between the West and East of Turkey, emphasized in the World Bank.
“Cargo car transportation accounts for about 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions occurring in the transport sector. Decarbonization of freight transportation is of great importance in terms of the decarbonization of the Turkish economy and reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases of Turkish industry, especially exporters who want to remain competitive in the world Trade ” – follows from the text of the statement.
The organization also recalled that the EU would begin to apply tariffs for carbon -like products since 2026 and emphasized the significance of a reduction in carbon trace for Turkish exporters.
It is expected that after the full implementation of the project in 2030, 72 thousand 332 tons of carbon dioxide emissions will be prevented annually, and by 2060 this figure will increase to 245 thousand tons, noted in the World Bank.
It is expected that the improvement of passenger and freight transportation will bring significant socio-economic benefits in the provinces of Sivas, Erzinjan, Erzurum and Kars, lagging behind the average indicators in the country in terms of economic well-being, the bank noted.