YOZGAT, TURKEY
Turkey aims to have laid 16,775 kilometers (10,423 miles) of the railway as of 2023, the 100th anniversary of its republic, the Turkish transport, and infrastructure minister said on Saturday.
The current length of railway in the country is 12,803 kilometers (7,955 miles), Adil Karaismailoglu told journalists in the central province of Yozgat.
Underlining that Turkey made significant railway investments over the last 19 years, he said the country dominates the Iron Silk Road, from China to Europe.
The Belt and Road Initiative sometimes referred to as the New Silk Road, is an ambitious development program to connect Asia with Africa and Europe via land and maritime networks along six corridors with the aim of improving regional integration, increasing trade, and stimulating economic growth.
He also said Turkey was making an effort to develop national and indigenous technologies to modernize its railways.
