Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, “We did not use any public budget in our project. A 13 percent discount will be applied over the current energy price during the operation period. All the energy of our 11th Regional Directorate of Highways will be met from this power plant without paying any price. It will make a significant contribution to reducing energy costs.” said.
Uraloğlu also stated that they are sensitive to the ecological balance in their highway construction works and that they pay attention to the natural life, and said, "We are building "Ecological Bridges" in the areas where wild animals live during the construction works on the highway routes, as the most appropriate precaution to be taken in order not to endanger their lives." said.
Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu spoke at the opening ceremony of the Solar Power Plant in Van. Uraloğlu, who started his words by saying, "We are in Van, the pearl of the East, the cradle of civilizations, the pearl of the East with its streets full of history, fertile lands and abundant streams," said, "The word 'Van in the World, Faith in the Hereafter', which was uttered during the reign of Seyit Fehim Arvasi, was not said in vain. Van, one of the largest cities in the east, bearing many traces of Anatolian civilizations, is one of our magnificent cities with its natural beauties. We are here today with you on the occasion of the opening ceremony of the Solar Power Plant.”
Noting that they have made many investments in the field of transportation and communication, Uraloğlu said, “Marmaray, Eurasia Tunnel, Istanbul Airport, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway Line, Filyos Port, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Osmangazi Bridge, 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, İzmir-İstanbul, Ankara- We have successfully completed and put into service giant transportation projects such as Niğde and Northern Marmara Highways. We recently opened the New Ercan Airport, which will make a significant contribution to tourism and economy. We introduced our country to the High Speed Train operation, which is our dream of half a century. We have invested approximately 21 billion liras in railways in 880 years,” he said.
“WE HAVE OPENED A AGE TO TURKEY”
Underlining that in 20 years, Turkey has come a long way, Minister Uraloğlu said, “We include every point of our country in our investment plans. Of course, we show the same care we show for our city of Van. To date, we have spent more than 37 billion 660 million liras for investments in Van's transportation and communication infrastructure. Uraloğlu stated that they increased the divided road, which was 2003 kilometers in 36, to 583 kilometers, and said the following regarding the investments made in Van:
“Until 2003, there were no roads with bituminous hot mix pavement in our city, but we built 320 kilometers of roads with bitumen hot mix standard. We connected Van to Bitlis with divided roads. We have completed Van Edremit-Gevaş-Bitlis Provincial Border Road, Erciş-Muradiye Çaldıran Road, Van-Özalp-Saray-Kapıköy Highway in the standard of a surface coated divided highway. We opened the Karabet Snow Tunnel, 400 meters long and 9 meters wide, the 2st Tube of the 306-meter Kuskıran Tunnel and the 1-meter Çatak Avalanche Tunnel to traffic. We have a railway network of 250 kilometers within the borders of our province. We commissioned Sultan Alparslan and İdris-i Bitlisi ferries with a capacity of 131 wagons. We scanned the Tatvan and Van port area. We renewed and completely overhauled the existing conventional line of 50 kilometers. Our passenger traffic, which was 131 in 2003 at Van Ferit Melen Airport, reached 144.003 million 2022 thousand in 1. Thanks to our Van Ferit Melen Airport New Terminal Building Axle Addition and Technical Block and Tower Construction project; Our annual passenger capacity has increased from 311 million 1 thousand to 200 million 2 thousand. We have completed the construction of Edremit Small Boat Shelter. We repaired the Gevaş Shelter and the Gevaş Akdamar Pier. We have 500 highway projects and 10 maritime projects in progress in our province. We continue to produce services for Türkiye without stopping.”
“SOLAR POWER PLANTS ARE VERY IMPORTANT”
Pointing out that Turkey's population is constantly increasing and our economic volume is growing day by day, Minister Uraloğlu underlined that more energy production is needed every year and the use of energy resources is increasing every year. Uraloğlu said:
"This situation; It causes a rapid decrease in non-renewable energy resources and an increase in energy imports. This situation brings with it air and environmental pollution. The importance of renewable energy sources, which are economical and not harmful to the atmosphere and the environment, is increasing rapidly. With this awareness, we first put into use the Solar Power Plant in Izmir in December 2017. Today, we have completed and put into service the second Solar Power Plant project under the responsibility of our Van 11th Regional Directorate. Our power plant, which was established on an area of 100 thousand square meters; It consists of 5 transformers, 45 inverters and 10 panels. It also has an installed power of 400 kilowatts. It will work with at least 5 percent efficiency throughout the operation period and will be transferred to our administration at the end of the contract period, operating with at least 600 percent efficiency."
“ENERGY EXPENSES WILL REDUCE”
Emphasizing that the power plant is the first Solar Power Plant to be implemented in Turkey with the Energy Performance Contract model, Minister Uraloğlu stated that with the energy and cost savings to be achieved after the implementation project, all costs are guaranteed to be covered during the contract period. Noting that no payment will be made for both construction and operating expenses during the contract period, Minister Uraloğlu said, “We did not use any public budget in our project. A 13 percent discount will be applied over the current energy price during the operation period. As of the end of the contract period, all the energy of our 11th Regional Directorate of Highways will be met from this power plant without paying any price. Our project will make a significant contribution to reducing the energy costs of our institution. We are constantly working for a sustainable and healthy future.”
“WE WILL LEAVE A LIVABLE CLEAN WORLD FOR OUR FUTURE”
Noting that they aim to leave a livable and clean world for our future with investments that change the face of transportation, Minister Uraloğlu said, “In this context, we carry out landscaping works, environmental cleaning, afforestation and many works that protect the green. While the roads are getting smarter with the works we carry out, our activities for the development of environmentally friendly transportation systems continue. With our noise mapping studies showing the noise load arising from sources such as vehicle traffic, rail traffic, airports and industry, and with the noise action planning we have created, we distinguish these areas and take appropriate measures. Within the scope of R&D studies sensitive to human and environment; We are working on environmentally friendly, water-based road marking paints, warm asphalt technology produced with less energy and emission, design and construction technologies that will reduce excavation production in cutting and tunnel portals, and environmentally friendly de-icing and preventive fluids. We started its application by developing a silent, safe and long-lasting wear layer that requires advanced technology with TÜBİTAK-supported projects, and we provided it for use depending on the traffic.”
“ECOLOGICAL BRIDGES” PROVIDE WILDLIFE ON HIGHWAYS…
Uraloğlu underlined that they built "Ecological Bridges" as the most appropriate precaution to be taken in order not to endanger their lives in the areas where wild animals live during the construction works on the highway routes, and underlined the importance they give to wildlife. Uraloğlu spoke as follows about the studies on this subject:
“Within the scope of the Northern Marmara Highway project, we implemented the “Ecological Bridge” in Uskumruköy so that wild animals can continue their lives without being affected by the highway. “First Wildlife Bridge” in Turkey, where wildlife crossing is prioritized. We built the "Forest Ecosystem Bridge" on the 30th kilometer of the Tarsus-Pozantı Highway that connects the Gülek Strait and the Mediterranean.”