Turkey to attract up to $10 billion in investment for Middle Corridor development

The government plans to attract about $9.7 billion from the World Bank (WB) and other international financial institutions to implement two large-scale infrastructure projects in Turkey - the Eastern Turkey Middle Corridor Railway Development Project (ETMIC) and the Istanbul Northern Railway Project (INRAIL).

The media, citing the World Bank, writes that the estimated cost of the ETMIC project is $1.615 billion, including VAT, while the cost of the INRAIL project is $8.1 billion, including VAT, contingencies, construction supervision and project management.

The ETMIC project involves the rehabilitation and electrification of the Divrig-Kars-Georgia border railway line, which is part of the Middle Corridor (Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, TITR).

The program includes the rehabilitation of 587 km of railway infrastructure and superstructure, the electrification of 667 km of the line from Divrig to the Georgian border, the construction of bridges, tunnels, culverts, retaining walls and station expansion, the introduction of regulated railway crossings and the development of social facilities to ensure safe operation.

The modern traffic management system includes 154 kV substations and power lines, signaling and telecommunications equipment, centralized traffic control (CTC) and a 320 km long distributed acoustic monitoring system (DAS).

According to the World Bank, the upgraded Eastern Corridor will become a strategic part of the Middle Corridor within Turkey, providing a direct connection between the country and Georgia, the Caspian region and Central Asia. The electrified freight line will increase the speed, reliability and environmental friendliness of transportation, as well as strengthen Turkey's role as a major logistics hub in Eurasia.

In parallel, Turkey is preparing to implement the INRAIL project - the construction of a new railway line of approximately 125 km in length, which will connect the Asian and European parts of the country, bypassing the Istanbul Metro.

The line will start at Çayırova Station (Asian side) and end at Çatalca Station (European side), passing over the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. The new line will be electrified and fully equipped with signaling, designed for the transportation of both passengers and freight.

According to the project, passenger trains will be able to develop a speed of 160 km/h, and freight trains - 80-120 km/h. The line will provide a direct connection between Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport, integrate them into the national railway network and strengthen multimodal logistics.

As noted by the World Bank, INRAIL will provide domestic and international transport connections between air and rail hubs, while improving urban mobility in the metropolis. The bypass line will have only two stations - both airports, which will effectively serve passenger flows and develop multimodal cargo transportation.

Recall that in 2024, the volume of cargo transportation through TITR increased by 62% and reached 4.5 million tons. In 2025, a further increase is forecast to 5.2 million tons, of which 4.2 million tons will pass through the routes of the participating countries. Of this volume, 2.5 million tons will be dry cargo (approximately 96,000 TEU), and 1.7 million tons - oil.

By 2027, the throughput of the route may increase to 10 million tons per year.

europetime.eu