"Traditional Transportation Reporters" meeting was held under the hosting of the Information Technologies and Communication Authority.
The "Traditional Transportation Reporters" meeting, which is traditionally held and includes evaluations of 2019 and targets for 2020, was attended by Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Mehmet Cahit Turhan, Deputy Ministers Dr. Ömer Fatih Sayan, Enver İskurt, Selim Dursun, Information Technologies and Communication Authority President Ömer Abdullah Karagözoğlu, Director General of Communications Gökhan Evren, and numerous press members.
Answering the reporters' questions, Minister Turhan provided information about the Istanbul Canal project. Stating that the zoning plan of the Istanbul Canal has been approved, Turhan said, “After the suspension process is completed, we will initiate the tender process. There are many country firms and credit institutions interested in the project, either through official letters or verbally. The Russian Federation, China, the Netherlands, Belgium, and also individual firms from other countries in the world are interested in our project."
Expressing that after the completion of the Istanbul Canal's zoning process and land allocation application, they will first relocate the local infrastructure, Minister Turhan said, "We will relocate roads, bridges, energy lines, and energy transmission lines, and after making the canal area sustainable without disrupting other services, we will start construction. We plan to carry out excavation and construction works in an area completely cleared of local traffic."
Minister Turhan: Voice and Internet-Based Communication is Important in Earthquakes
Speaking also on the emergency communication system to be used in earthquakes, which came to the agenda following the recent earthquakes in Elazığ and Malatya, Turhan conveyed that they are taking measures against possible earthquakes in coordination with operators, and that studies are being conducted to develop a messaging and voice call application to be used during earthquakes together with operators as a joint implementation. Minister Turhan said, "Thus, the aim is to prevent sudden increases in voice traffic from causing any problems in the network. In addition, our capacity increase studies with operators continue. The first stages have been completed, and increases will be made gradually in the upcoming period. Voice and internet-based communication in earthquakes is important, and our initiatives on this continue. Studies with our Ministry of Interior and AFAD are ongoing."
Minister Turhan: Intelligent Transportation Systems Application Corridor to be Established
Informing that an intelligent transportation systems application corridor will be established in the near future, Minister Turhan stated that the necessary environment will be created for producers operating in the sector to test products they produce with domestic and national resources. After the works to be carried out, Minister Turhan, who also said that they will become members of the largest organizations working on intelligent transportation systems in Europe and follow the developments closely, announced that the General Directorate of Highways has started manufacturing 15 thousand kilometers of fiber infrastructure and 505 kilometers have been completed, the architecture of smart roads has been established, and this service has started to be provided on a part of the Mediterranean Coastal Road.
Minister Turhan also added to his remarks that the National Cyber Incident Response Center, National Monitor System, and BTK Data Center under the Information Technologies Authority will be put into service by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on February 10.