TURKEY: rail sector opens to private investment

In Turchia il settore ferroviario non è più un’esclusiva dello Stato: da oggi gli investimenti accettati sono anche quelli provenienti dal settore privato.

Ankara intends to involve the private sector in the management of state railways, after a long period of public monopoly. A bill was recently presented to Parliament aimed at creating a public company for the management of rail transport: the novelty is that both public and private companies will be able to obtain a license to build their own railway network, act as railway operators, and manage trains on the national railway network.

The routes would therefore remain in the hands of the State, but with management similar to what already happens for airports and highways, whereby the concession rights would be transferred to private companies for a maximum period of 49 years.

Transport Minister Binali Yildirim said Turkey's investment in the sector exceeded 2,000 million euros in 2012 compared to 97 million euros in 2011, for a total investment of 11,000 million euros over the past 10 years.

According to Yildirim, investments in the railway sector in Turkey will reach 19,000 million Euros in 2023 for high-speed trains. The goal is to connect 15 cities, and the total length of the railway network will increase, according to Yildirim, from 11,000 km to 25,500 km. A project is also being studied for the construction of high-speed lines between the Black Sea region and the southeast of Turkey.

Manlio Urbano – settore ferroviario in Turchia

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