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China Finances Turkish Rail Project

15 October 2010 17:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku â€“ APA. Turkeyâ€™s state railways director says his country and China will jointly construct high speed rail lines in Turkey, APA reports quoting â€œThe Voice of Americaâ€.
Suleyman Karaman says under the plan, China will loan Turkey over half of the $45 billion needed for the construction project. He said Friday the rail line that China will help finance will run between the northeastern city of Kars and western city of Edirne.
The project is one of eight trade agreements signed during a meeting last week between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao.
Karama says Turkeyâ€™s overall plan is to construct 6,000 kilometers of high speed train lines and about 4,000 kilometers of conventional train lines by 2023.
The two countries also signed agreements last week to collaborate on infrastructure projects and cultural exchanges. Also, Turkish and Chinese leaders pledged to boost trade between the countries to $100 billion by 2020.