Waiting Times Increase in Kapikule

UTIKAD, the Association of International Forwarding and Logistics Services Producers, is calling on the authorities regarding the extension of the waiting times in Kapıkule.

The UTIKAD Delegation, which met with the Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey, Ambassador Nikolaus Meyer-Landrut in Ankara on Thursday, November 18, 2021, brought the Kapıkule issue to the agenda. In the meeting attended by UTIKAD Vice Chairman of the Board Emre Eldener, UTIKAD Board Member Mehmet Özal, UTIKAD Regions Coordinator Bilgehan Engin and UTIKAD General Manager Alperen Güler, the waits at the Kapıkule Border Gate prevented the fulfillment of the aim of emission reduction aimed with the European Green Agreement, It has been discussed that the vehicle fleets that cannot be used efficiently due to the vehicles waiting to cross the border gate cause idle capacity.

İsmail Tekin, Member of UTIKAD Board of Directors and Head of the Highway Working Group, stated that Bulgaria increased the inspections in order to prevent illegal immigrants, and that there were long queues as a result of the inspections. Stating that the Edirne Governor's Office requested the employment of security personnel in a letter sent to each facility in order to prevent the attempts of immigrants against the trucks, İsmail Tekin said, “As the pandemic restrictions decreased, exports increased, but the waiting times at the border gates continue to put the sector in a difficult situation. Due to the inability of Bulgaria to respond to the intensity, there was an 11-kilometer truck queue in front of the Kapıkule Border Gate.” said.

İsmail Tekin said, “The main problem in the recent period is that other countries rather than Turkey are slowing things down. Although Turkey made more transition investments, the Bulgarian side did not make any improvements to respond to this. In order for the improvements made on the Turkish side of the border gate to be efficient, the coordinated work of Kapıkule and Kapitan Andreevo Border Gates must be ensured. Otherwise, the improvements made on the Turkish side are insufficient to serve the purpose; Although we increase our vehicle processing capacity, coordination with the Bulgarian side needs to be ensured. Vehicle queues in Kapıkule mean unfavorable conditions for drivers. While waiting for days prevents the maximum utilization of our country's vehicle fleet capacity, the increased freight prices therefore reduce the competitiveness of our exporters in foreign markets. The vehicle queue problem in Kapıkule is not only a problem that concerns the logistics industry, but also the foreign traders of our country. For this reason, we hope that the problem will be resolved immediately.” he said.