The tension around Iran has shown the world the importance of safe transport routes. This was stated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul at the “Global Transport Corridors“ forum.
“The tension in our region, the uncertainty with the Strait of Hormuz and in the airspace have reminded us how important safe transport routes are“, he said, mentioning among them the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR, Middle Corridor) and the logistics projects “Development Road“. According to him, the production effect of the implementation of TITR will amount to 114 billion USD, from “Development Road“ - to 50 billion. USD.
Erdogan believes that the Middle Corridor will securely connect Europe and Asia. “If transportation to Europe via the Suez Canal takes an average of 35 days, and via the Cape of Good Hope - about 45 days, then with the implementation of this project, the time for delivering goods will be less than 15 days,“ Erdogan said.
As for the “Development Road“, its implementation will increase the strategic importance of the region in transport communications. “Thanks to this project, we will turn our geopolitical opportunities into an economic advantage, which will benefit our region. We, our neighbor Iraq and all brotherly countries in the region will benefit from its implementation“, the Turkish president noted. Turkish authorities announced earlier that after the construction of the “Development Road“ the route for delivering goods to Europe will be reduced to 25 days.
"The Development Road" stretches from China through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey to European countries. Railway and sea transport (via the Caspian Sea) are involved in the transport. The length of the route is 11,000 km, the throughput is from 4.5 million to 27 million tons per year.
The launch of the "Development Road" project, which will provide uninterrupted transport links between Europe and Asia, was given by the Iraqi authorities in 2023. As part of the "Development Road", it is necessary to modernize and build over 1,200 km of railway lines connected to high-speed highways that will connect Iraq with neighboring countries. In April 2024. A memorandum of understanding was signed between Turkey, Iraq, the UAE and Qatar on the project to create an international transport and logistics system. It is estimated to cost 17 billion USD.