Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ is reportedly in talks with Turkey to build a railway over the Bosporus in Istanbul as part of a planned trade corridor linking Europe to the Middle East and Asia, in what will rival the US- and European Union-backed IMEC project.
Bloomberg citing Turkish officials familiar with the matter, reported the news on Thursday. The railway is planned to cross the Yavuz Sultan Selim suspension bridge, the sources said. The bridge was finalized in 2016 for $3 billion and is used to link Istanbul’s European and Asian sides. It is one of the longest and widest crossings in the world — 2,164 meters (1.3 miles) and 58.4 meters (192 feet), respectively.
The sources said that Turkey wants to use its strategic geographical position to help link a trade corridor between London, the Gulf and Beijing.
Al-Monitor has contacted Turkey’s Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and ADQ for comment.
It follows news of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was announced at the G20 summit in New Delhi on Sept. 9. The project, brokered by the United States, will link India with markets in the Middle East and Europe, a trade corridor representing half of the global economy that will include railway tracks and shipping routes over a distance of 5,000 kilometers (3,106 miles). Undersea electric cables and green energy pipelines will also be laid between India and Greece.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative is also trying to bolster trade and connectivity across Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Turkey first floated an alternative plan to the G20 and China in mid-September, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan telling reporters who accompanied him to the New Delhi summit, “There can be no corridor without Turkey.”
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told The Financial Times Sept. 17 that “intensive negotiations” were underway with Iraq, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) about the project, which would be forged “within the next few months.”
There has also been increasing cooperation and business partnerships between Turkey and the UAE as of late, as Erdogan’s government has moved to strengthen previously thawing ties and attract foreign investment. In July, the UAE pledged $50 million to support Turkey’s ailing economy and Abu Dhabi hopes bilateral trade with Ankara will double to $40 billion by 2030, Bloomberg reported.
Abu Dhabi’s ADQ in Talks With Turkey to Build Railway for Trade Corridor
October 5th, 2023
October 5th, 2023
Via Al Monitor, a look at how – amid increasing cooperation between the two countries – an alternative trade corridor is planned linking Europe, the Middle East and Asia;
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