Damascus Airport to Open to International Flights with Turkey's Efforts

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, stating that they have made the necessary determinations regarding Damascus and Aleppo Airports, said, “In the first stage, we will take a position together with the General Directorate of State Airports Authority regarding the revival of Damascus Airport.”

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu answered questions from journalists as part of the Anatolian Broadcasters Federation Program. Minister Uraloğlu made statements regarding Syria and noted that they, as a Ministry, are present in all areas of transport and communication. Uraloğlu said, “The geography we are in is truly valuable. If you show our map to someone who does not know our geography, they will say that Turkey is truly the most valuable place. We can reach 4 countries and approximately 67 billion people with just a 1,5-hour flight. We are talking about a gross national product of 51,2 trillion dollars and an annual trade volume of 12,5 trillion dollars; we are in such a geography.”

“Today, We Connected 77 Provinces with Divided Roads”

Noting that they shaped Turkey's infrastructure according to the advantages brought by its geopolitical location, Uraloğlu continued his words as follows:

“In 2002, we only had 6 kilometers of divided roads. Today, we increased it to 101 kilometers. We were only connecting 29 provinces, today we have connected 700 provinces with divided roads. Look, under those conditions, the number of vehicles in Turkey was around 6 million and the average speed between cities was around 77 kilometers per hour. Today, the number of vehicles has reached around 8 million. It is approaching 40 million. Just think, our average speed on the roads between cities is around 30 kilometers per hour. If we had not done these, where would we be today?”

Minister Uraloğlu, who also provided information about railway investments, said, “There was a serious move in the early years of the Republic. Then it was completely put aside, we took action there together with our AK Party governments. We made our country the 6th high-speed train operator in Europe and the 8th in the world. We built 2 kilometers of high-speed railway. I can say that we completely overhauled our existing railways.”

Uraloğlu, who noted that they increased the number of active airports in the airline industry from 2002 in 26 to 58, said, “Look, it’s easy to say, the passenger traffic that was 2002 million in 34 was 213 million last year. We will probably close it with 231 million this year. Look, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the airport we talk about whether the crows will fly there, completed it with 36 million last year. We will complete it with 38-40 million this year. We will see 80 million at Istanbul Airport alone this year.”

Minister Uraloğlu, who also touched upon the internet speed in Turkey, said, “Without going into too much technical terms, first of all, we have increased the fiber cables to approximately 580 thousand kilometers. We have increased them to 600 thousand kilometers. We bring them to the beginning of a street or the beginning of an avenue, two, we can run them through the entire street. Three, we can bring them to the entrance of a house. Almost all of the old buildings are covered with copper, first of all, the speed automatically decreases there. Also, when we consider all that I have said, if I am not mistaken, we are in a position to provide an average service of 80 megabits, but the subscribers, the subscription conditions and requests are at approximately 35-40 megabits. In other words, the demand is not sufficient at this point. Therefore, we are faced with criticisms that we are not at the speed we want in terms of internet, but I would like to say that this is the real situation.”

“Syria Needs Everything”

Minister Uraloğlu also made statements about Syria, which is on the agenda of Turkey and the World. Minister Uraloğlu, who stated that Syria needs everything, said, “After the February 6 earthquakes, families first struggle with how to get their relatives out, how to bury them, etc. Then how to get into a tent, then how to get into a container? Then home. Now, while we were visiting those tents, one of our friends asked a sister there: Sister, do you need anything? The answer is: What doesn’t someone in a tent need? That’s the answer and it’s a perfect answer. What doesn’t someone in Syria need? I mean, they really need everything. This is the information we received at the first stage.”

“We Made the Necessary Determinations at Damascus and Aleppo Airports”

Minister Uraloğlu also provided information on the transportation issue and said, “There are 5 airports in Syria. 2 more airports have come to the forefront and have been operated until recently. Damascus and Aleppo. There were around 100 thousand trips at Damascus Airport last year. Istanbul Airport has a 5-6 hour travel traffic. There were around 50-60 thousand trips at Aleppo. We sent a team. We made the necessary determinations at Damascus and Aleppo airports. First of all, there is no radar system. There is a weather radar application that we follow from our mobile phones. Imagine that they are trying to manage it from that mobile phone application.”

Minister Uraloğlu also shared the information that the tube computers from the 1990s were still being used at airports. Uraloğlu said, “These X-ray devices, detectors, there is nothing real. There is serious wear on the runways and the first Damascus and Aleppo flight there was made entirely by the pilots’ initiative. In other words, it was made under visual conditions without any system, so our friends made a determination. We put forward an action plan.”

Uraloğlu stated that they will initially take a position with the State Airports Authority regarding the restoration of Damascus Airport, and said, “There are parts of the railways that originate from Turkey and go all the way to Hejaz. We know that they have not been operated as parts of a certain whole there for a long time. We will quickly make a determination and take a position regarding ensuring the integrity of the railway all the way to Damascus in the first stage. We saw off passenger trains there in 2009-2010. We made a journey. There is an infrastructure there. We know that in some regions, for example in Iraq, the rails of the railways are stolen and sold as iron from scratch. We may encounter this in Syria as well.”

“I can say that we have repaired the destroyed bridges”

Recalling the terror operations, Minister Uraloğlu said, “In the internal dynamics in Syria, the M4 highway and the M5 highway have always been talked about. In other words, a highway can have such an impact on the country’s politics. So what is the situation with those highways? We are giving them a situation, but we already know the regions where Turkey is conducting operations and I would like to say that we have done a lot of work there, especially in terms of highways. Whether it is through the hand of our General Directorate of Highways. Again, whether it is through the hand of our Ministry of National Defense. I can say that we have done a lot of work there and repaired many collapsed bridges.”

Syria is 20-30 Years Behind Turkey in Communication Points

He stated that Syria is 20-30 years behind Turkey in terms of communication and noted that communication cannot be provided by mobile phone in many points. Uraloğlu said, “We will make the necessary determinations regarding these and we will try to implement them as a Ministry, as I said, everything is needed there. So think about printing money or what will happen to Syria’s currency. For example, did you know that Syria’s currency is printed by Russia? Think about it, another country is printing a country’s currency. Currently, many countries in Africa are in a similar position, some developed countries are printing their currency. Turkey will probably be in a position to provide support there at this point as well.”

We know that their ports are hardly developed

Noting that Syria is an important gateway to the Mediterranean, Uraloğlu said, “We know that its ports are almost completely undeveloped. We will probably have determinations and efforts regarding certain investments to be made there. Of course, when the time comes for a Maritime Jurisdiction Agreement, possibly to protect our interests in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Blue Homeland, our relevant institutions will take action there. In terms of trade, Damascus and Syria have a history, and we will do our best to revive it.”

Stating that such an agreement would increase the effectiveness and competence of both Syria and Turkey, he said, “In terms of oil and hydrocarbon exploration there, we would share or expand all kinds of authority as two countries, taking into account international law. Of course, an authority needs to be established there first. Look, the salaries of civil servants need to be paid there. There is an agenda regarding the disarmament of armed groups, this will definitely be on the agenda, but it would not be right to say that it is on today’s agenda.”