Turkey Builds Alternative Transport Routes Amid the Strait of Hormuz Closure Concerns

Turkey is actively developing land and sea logistics routes to minimize the risks of a possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key transport artery for oil and gas exports from the Persian Gulf countries. This was stated by Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu in an interview with the Hürriyet newspaper, according to gazeta.ru. “We need reliable alternatives in case the strait is blocked, so we are implementing the “Development Road” and “Middle Corridor” projects,” the minister explained. According to him, 2,100 km of the “Development Road” passes through Turkish territory, with plans to invest around $24 billion in it. At the same time, the Trans-Caspian route (the “Middle Corridor”) is being strengthened, with 2,200 km of the route also passing through Turkey. The construction of key sections of this route has already been completed. Once the projects are fully implemented, delivery times to Europe will be reduced to 25 days via the ‘“Development Road” and a record 13 days via the “Middle Corridor”. The latter is an 11,000-kilometre route from China through Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, using rail and sea transport across the Caspian Sea. Its capacity will reach 27 million tons of cargo per year. On 22 June, it was reported that the Iranian parliament had already given the government a mandate to close the Strait of Hormuz.