A major highway project planned to stretch from the Turkish capital Ankara to Delice, a town in Kırıkkale province in the central Anatolian region, has secured a 974 million euro ($1.13 billion) loan, a top official announced Wednesday.
The project would be completed with a total investment of 1.4 billion euros, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said.
Speaking at the signing ceremony for the closing agreement in Ankara, Uraloğlu said the other 30% of the project, or 417 million euros, will be financed with equity.
The minister stated that the Ankara-Kırıkkale-Delice Highway is a development project that will strengthen industrial, agricultural and tourism activities and would also boost connectivity and transportation logistics in the country.
"The investment cost of this project is 1.39 billion euros, of which 30%, or 417 million euros, will be financed through equity, while 70%, or 974 million euros, will be secured through bank loans," he noted.
Furthermore, he stated that the strong confidence international financial institutions have in Türkiye was also evident in the Antalya-Alanya Highway project, as he announced that they completed the financial closing of another megaproject.
The authorities said earlier this week that Ankara has secured a 1.7 billion euro loan to finance the public-private partnership (PPP) project to build a highway linking the Mediterranean tourism hubs of Antalya and Alanya.
As part of his speech, the minister emphasized the significance and advantages offered by highways in freight and passenger transport, underlining that they are one of the main arteries of the logistics system.
"In the last 23 years, with investments in our highway infrastructure, we have practically rebuilt Türkiye and equipped all parts of our country with high-standard roads. We increased our divided highway network from 6,101 kilometers in 2002 to 29,906 kilometers as of today," he said.
The highway, from Ankara via Kirikkale to Delice, will be 120 kilometers (75 miles) long with 101 kilometers of main trunk roads and 19 kilometers of connecting roads, he informed.
"It is not just a transportation project but also a development project that will strengthen industrial, agricultural, and tourism activities. Currently, construction works continue at full speed," the minister said.
Banks providing the loan to the project include Ziraat Bank, Işbank, Yapı Kredi and Akbank.
