Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan talks following his cabinet meeting in Ankara, Turkey, Monday, May 17, 2021. Photo: VCG

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey aims to become a logistics superpower as part of the country's 2053 vision.

The big Europe-Asia-Africa trade triangle, in which Turkey is located, offers great opportunities for the country especially in the field of transportation, he said at a press conference after a cabinet meeting.

Turkey has already made significant investments worth $172 billion in five main transportation sectors since 2003, he added.

The railway investments have come to the fore. The railway network has been expanded from 10,959 to 13,022 kilometers, which will be lengthened to 28,590 kilometers by 2053, he noted.

The share of railways in passenger transportation is planned to increase from 1 percent to 6.2 percent, which is above the European average, the Turkish president said in a statement.

Turkey will also improve the road service level with new investments, expanding the divided road network from 28,650 to 38,000 kilometers, and the highway network from 3,633 to 8,325 kilometers by 2053, he added.

Nearly 255 million tons of cargo will be transported through Turkish ports in 2023, and this figure will be approximately 421 million tons in 2053, he said.

For this purpose, the number of port facilities will increase from 217 currently to 255 in 2053, Erdogan added.

The Canal Istanbul project is of critical importance in terms of reducing the ship traffic in the Bosphorus, the president noted.

Xinhua