Skip to main content

IRF Regional Conference, Istanbul: Turkish economy surges ahead

IRF Regional Congress to be held against backdrop of ramped up highway investment Turkey has long enjoyed a privileged geographic position at the crossroads of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Buoyed by a vibrant economy (4.5% average GDP growth between 2002 and 2012), Turkey has embarked on an unprecedented effort to develop and modernise its transport infrastructure by 2023, marking the centennial of the foundation of the modern Turkish Republic. This plan, which seeks to propel Turkey as
April 13, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
The Gebze-Orhangazi-İzmir highway is one the biggest build operate transfer projects in the world
IRF Regional Congress to be held against backdrop of ramped up highway investment

Turkey has long enjoyed a privileged geographic position at the crossroads of Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East. Buoyed by a vibrant economy (4.5% average GDP growth between 2002 and 2012), Turkey has embarked on an unprecedented effort to develop and modernise its transport infrastructure by 2023, marking the centennial of the foundation of the modern Turkish Republic.

This plan, which seeks to propel Turkey as the world’s 10th largest economy, sets an ambitious highway construction agenda with 36,000km of dual carriageway roads and another 7,800km of BOT motorways serving the needs of an estimated 378 billion passenger km. In parallel, a nationwide integrated traffic management & traveller information system relying on 17 regional centres and 7,500km of fibre optic cable is scheduled for completion by 2023.

1st IRF Europe & Central Asia Regional Congress

September 15–18, 2015
Grand Wyndham Hotel, Istanbul


Limited exhibition & sponsorship opportunities:

• Raise your profile and strengthen your brand awareness
• Position your brand as a market leader in a dynamic region
• Differentiate your brand from competitors
• Maximise exposure of your brand to the media and visitors
• Generate leads with exclusive access to a targeted audience
• Present your innovations at Applied Knowledge sessions
• Make your mark at a milestone event
with influential professionals from all road industry disciplines
Early results, as measured by the 3019 World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Index, are encouraging. In 2014, the country as a whole ranked 33rd for the quality of its overall infrastructure. Highway infrastructure investments as a percentage of GDP increased from 0.4% to 1.2% in 2012. This in turn has translated into significant new markets for road equipment: Turkey’s current needs are estimated at 2,000 km of safety barrier and 142,000m2 of vertical signing every year for its national highway network alone.

Some of Turkey’s anchor investment projects are also setting new standards such as the Mount Ovit Tunnel (14,700m) set to be the longest in Europe, or the 384km Gebze-Orhangazi-zmir highway, one the biggest build operate pransfer projects in the world (pictured), valued at US$6.3 billion. Once completed, travel time from Istanbul to zmir will be cut by half to just 4 hours.

With a strong economic outlook and a long-term vision for the sector, Turkey has become an extremely promising market for investors and suppliers. Efforts underway to modernise the country’s legislative framework for PPPs will further strengthen the attractiveness of Turkey’s active portfolio of investment operations.


Organised by 3918 IRF Washington.



For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • UK figures for 2012 show drop in fatalities
    September 26, 2013
    Provisional figures available from the UK’s Department for Transport reveal a drop in road fatalities in 2012 compared with the previous year. There were 1,754 fatalities in 2012, an 8% drop from 2011 according to the DfT information. In all 195,723 were killed or injured on UK roads in 2012, a drop of 4% from 2011 while 23,039 were seriously injured a drop of 0.4%. Vehicle traffic levels fell just 0.4% for 2012 compared with 2011 however. The number of pedestrian deaths, as well as motorcyclist and car occ
  • EQAR calls for a European-wide recycling plan
    October 13, 2016
    A European-wide construction material recycling strategy should be put in place as soon as possible, according to the European Quality Association for Recycling. EQAR made the call during its annual Congress in the Slovakian capital Bratislava, Slovakia, and on the occasion of its 10th anniversary. In his inaugural address, EQAR president Manfred Wierichs said that recycling of construction material differs greatly among European Union states. This is the case even though construction material recycli
  • Volvo CE ends 2023 with healthy sales
    January 29, 2024
    But despite increased orders in North and South America, overall global order intake remained low, declining by 26%, primarily caused by lower demand in China.
  • Salini Impregilo expands in the US with purchase of Lane Industries
    November 12, 2015
    Italian global infrastructure group Salini Impregilo has agreed to buy 100% of Lane Industries, an American highways contractor and the “top private asphalt producer” in the US. Lane, a family-owned business based in Cheshire, Connecticut, was bought for US$406 million and has a turnover of around $1.5 billion. The company has three divisions: asphalt production, road projects and other infrastructure projects, in domestic and international markets. A statement from Salini said Lane is participating i