The Opening Ceremony of “Strengthening Intermodal Transport Services in Turkish Railway Sector (U-IMT)” Project Was Held

The opening ceremony of the "Strengthening Intermodal Transport Services in the Turkish Railway Sector" (U-IMT), supported by the European Union and the Republic of Turkey under the Sectoral Operational Programme for Transport, of which the Strategy Development Directorate of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure is the end beneficiary, was held with the participation of the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Adil KARAİSMAİLOĞLU.

The stakeholders of the project, the Directorate General for European Union Affairs and Foreign Relations Department for European Union Investments, the Directorate General of Infrastructure, the Directorate General of Transportation Services Regulation, Turkish State Railways (TCDD), TCDD Transport and European Union Delegation to Türkiye officials with private transport carriers and freight forwarders, private sector investors in transport facilities, international financing institutions, national clusters and associations dealing with multimodal freight activities in Türkiye, and foreign mission representatives were in the opening ceremony held in Ankara on April 5, 2023.

The meeting started with the opening speech of Dr Yunus Emre AYÖZEN, the end beneficiary of the project and the Head of the Strategy Development Directorate. Dr AYÖZEN mentioned the importance of the U-IMT Project for our country and the current state of railways and railway transport.

After Dr AYÖZEN, the Head of Operating Structure, and Director General for EU Affairs and Foreign Relations, Mr Burak AYKAN, highlighted importance of the effective and efficient use of the funds allocated to the transportation sector within the scope of Türkiye-European Union Financial Cooperation.

Head of Economic and Social Development Department of the Delegation of the European Union to Türkiye, Mr Angel Gutierrez HIDALGO DE QUINTANA, gave information on managing the EU funds allocated to the transport sector.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Director for EU Affairs, Ambassador Mehmet Kemal BOZAY emphasized that the results of the Project will contribute signaficantly to the green transition of transport sector, the digital agenda and Türkiye’s EU alignment process.

In his addresses, the Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Mr Adil KARAİSMAİLOĞLU, mentioned the investments made by Türkiye in the transportation sector in the fields of railways and railway transportation, the rapidly developing intermodal transportation system and the methods to be followed in achieving sectoral targets.

Mr Salvatore D'ALFONSO, Team Leader of the U-IMT Project, and Mr Tom KENNEDY, the key expert of the project, shared the activities performed since the beginning of the project.

Workshops, study visits, official and public meetings, and focus group discussions will continue to be held within the project's scope.