Türkiye and the World Bank have signed a new partnership to strengthen Türkiye’s connectivity with Europe, Asia and the Middle East, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs, including the creation of 100,000 more worldwide.
The project includes a 127-km electrified rail line crossing the Bosphorus via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. Officials estimate it will cut logistics costs and increase annual rail freight capacity across the strait from 3 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes.
The agreement was signed by Anna Bjerde, the World Bank’s Managing Director for Operations, and Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek. Şimşek said the project is aimed at eliminating a key "bottleneck" in the so-called Middle Corridor, linking Europe with Asia by land, including through the Caucasus region. It will route trade through tunnels, reducing exposure to extreme heat, flooding, strong winds and wildfires, the World Bank said.
Happy to have signed this landmark agreement alongside @bjerde_anna and the @WorldBank team.
INRAIL is more than an ordinary railway connection.
📍 Bridging the Bosphorus: Unlocking one of the Middle Corridor’s most critical bottlenecks.
📈 Rail capacity: 3M → 50M tons/year… https://t.co/HEdjH5o3cN — Mehmet Simsek (@memetsimsek) April 15, 2026
The total cost of the project is valued at $8.1 billion, Şimşek said, with 83% financed by international financial institutions. INRAIL is the third-largest project in the history of the World Bank.
Türkiye said the project will increase capacity on the Middle Corridor railways from 3 million to 50 million tonnes per year.
The investment will create approximately 414,000 higher-paying jobs and 99,000 new jobs, according to projections.
The Middle Corridor is a transport and trade route passing through a number of countries in the region and connecting Asia with Europe. It serves as an alternative to the traditional Northern and Southern Corridors and bypasses longer sea routes, which can slow trade.
Şimşek added that the signing of the agreement reflects mutual trust in Türkiye’s development and partnership, and he expressed gratitude to the technical teams of all parties for their work.
"This project is a strategic and transformational investment for Türkiye," said Humberto Lopez, World Bank Country Director for Türkiye. "By removing a critical rail bottleneck at the Istanbul Strait and enhancing the resilience and efficiency of rail infrastructure, Türkiye is boosting its competitiveness and reinforcing its role as a logistic hub."
Ukraine is ready to stop attacks on Russian oil refineries if Moscow also halts strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure, President Volodymyr Zel...
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, say...
The 25th World Petroleum Council (WPC) Energy Congress opened in Riyadh on Sunday (11 October), running from 11 to 15 October under the theme &ldqu...
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed surprise after Donald Trump mediated the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace agreement in 2025, the U.S. President said at a rally in New York state on Friday.
The United Nations has condemned a sharp rise in attacks on civilians in Ukraine, reporting that more than 100 people were killed and at least 429 injured in a single week as Russian strikes hit residential areas, passenger buses and critical infrastructure.
The U.S. has imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday (9 October) escalating tensions with European allies and potentially targeting companies that provide services to the tribunal. The move came hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize.
Turkic states are assessing the feasibility of passport-free travel between countries using national ID cards, Kürşad Zorlu, the Deputy Chairman of Türkiye’s ruling AK Party said on Saturday.
Yemen's Houthis renewed warning to airlines, airport workers, and travellers against using Saudi airports, saying the warning should be taken seriously and that the kingdom “bore responsibility for failed interceptions”, a day after an attack on Riyadh's international airport that killed 12 people.
The 25th World Petroleum Council (WPC) Energy Congress opened in Riyadh on Sunday (11 October), running from 11 to 15 October under the theme “Pathways to an Energy Future for All.”
Members of Azerbaijan’s Milli Majlis and representatives of several non-governmental organisations have sent a letter to U.S. senators and members of the House of Representatives in response to an 5 October letter concerning Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan on Sunday (11 October) marked the sixth anniversary of the deadly terror attack on Ganja, the country's second-largest city, where an Armenian ballistic missile struck a residential neighbourhood during the Second Garabagh War, killing ten civilians.
The explosion at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday afternoon killed at least 12 people and injured a further 309, according to Saudi Arabia’s Civil Aviation Authority. The airport remains closed until further notice.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment