Minister Uraloğlu: “As the AK Party, we are not engaged in ideological politics, but in service politics.”

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, who attended the AK Party Manisa Provincial Advisory Council, reminded that they have invested 277 billion dollars in Turkey’s transportation and communication infrastructure over the 22 years of AK Party rule, saying, “As members of the AK Party, we do not engage in ideological politics but in service politics, acting on the principle of ‘Let the state live by preserving the human'”.

The AK Party Manisa Provincial Advisory Council Meeting held at the Millet Çarşı Conference Hall in Yunusemre district of Manisa, which was also attended by Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, saw the participation of AK Party Group Deputy Chairman and Manisa Deputy Bahadır Yenişehirlioğlu, AK Party Manisa Provincial Chairman Salih Hızlı, AK Party MKYK Member and Manisa Deputy Mücahit Arınç, AK Party Manisa Deputies Tamer Akkal, Murat Baybatur, AK Party district chairmen, and many members of the party.

After the speeches of AK Party Provincial Chairman Salih Hızlı and the deputies, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu also spoke about the investments made in transportation and communication infrastructure during the AK Party governments.

“We have launched mega projects to achieve our goals”
Minister Uraloğlu expressed his special satisfaction in meeting with the people of Manisa just 2 days before the 102nd anniversary of the liberation of Manisa from enemy occupation on September 8, 1922, stating: “Our independence struggle has reached victory thanks to the unique sacrifices of all our martyrs and veterans who prioritized their homeland over their lives, and the determination of our noble nation to stand up for its independence and freedom. With this blessed understanding, we continue to work with great determination to protect, sustain, and strengthen our Republic, built on the legacy of our ancient civilization, and carry it into the future with new successes. I once again celebrate this pride day of Manisa, and I hope our meeting will be a harbinger of good for our AK Party, our city, and our country. I thank all my friends who have served in the Manisa provincial and district organizations since its establishment for their efforts and labor. I also pray for the mercy of Almighty God on all our brothers who have passed away. Our AK Party, which was established in August, a month synonymous with the victories of our glorious nation, and took its place in the history of politics and democracy on August 14, 2001, has brought victory-like achievements to our country in almost every field, from social issues to the economy, from law to foreign policy, from education to health, from defense industry to transportation, from environmental issues to urbanization, and from production to technology. Thanks to the deep reforms implemented, our President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s words, ‘From now on, nothing will be as it was before,’ have thankfully not gone unheeded, and Turkey has leapfrogged in every field. Together with our AK Party, we have worked day and night to make Turkey a much stronger, more democratic, and developed country. We have grown and strengthened Turkey. With the high will of our President, we continue on our way with new goals in the Century of Turkey. We are making steady progress towards our 2053 and 2071 visions. There is no blessing without effort. You all know very well the difficulties we faced to achieve the goals we mentioned. We have completed and presented to our nation the mega projects that our people have waited for years and that some could not even dream of.”

Investment of 277 billion dollars in Turkey’s transportation and communication infrastructure in 22 years
Speaking about the investments made during the AK Party rule over the last 22 years, Minister Uraloğlu said, “Under the leadership of our President; we have successively realized mega projects such as Marmaray, the Eurasia Tunnel, Istanbul Airport, Yavuz Sultan Selim, Osmangazi, and 1915 Çanakkale Bridges, Istanbul-Manisa-Izmir, Ankara-Niğde, and North Marmara Highways, Filyos Port, and Çamlıca Tower. We increased the length of divided roads, which we inherited at 6,101 kilometers in 2002, to approximately 29,434 kilometers. While the number of cities connected by divided roads was 6, we raised it to 77. We made Turkey the 6th in Europe and the 8th in the world in high-speed train operations. We built a 2,251 kilometer high-speed train network by connecting our country with high-speed trains. We have made a leap in aviation. While the number of active airports in domestic flights was 26, it increased to 58 with the Çukurova International Airport, which we opened on August 10. We also successfully launched Turkey’s first domestic and national communication satellite TÜRKSAT 6A into space in July. We have started the testing process. Thus, we are also taking ownership of our space. We have realized countless works that can hardly be counted, such as divided roads, highways, bridges, tunnels, railways, airports, and satellites. Everyone talks and makes promises. Our difference is to speak with the works, services, and investments we have made. The works and services we have provided to Manisa alone are sufficient to show how far Turkey has come since 2002. Since 2002, we have made an investment of 94 billion 384 million lira for the development of Manisa’s transportation and communication infrastructure. We increased the length of divided roads from 82 kilometers to 628 kilometers. We connected Manisa to Izmir, Uşak, Ankara, Balıkesir, Kütahya, and Denizli with divided roads. We provided a 125 kilometer highway to Manisa within the scope of the Istanbul-Izmir Highway. We pierced through the Sabuncubeli, which the travelers described as ‘terrifying’ in the Travel Book of Evliya Çelebi. We opened the İzmir-Manisa Road, Manisa Ring Road, Salihli-Gölmarmara-Akhisar Road, and Manisa-Akhisar-Balıkesir Road as divided roads with bituminous hot mix coating. We continue to work on 12 highway projects such as Gördes-Köprübaşı Road, Gördes-Demirci Road, Akhisar-Sındırgı Road, Manisa-Turgutlu Road. Before coming here, we also examined our works at the Gediz Bridge Interchange. This interchange is located at the intersection of the İzmir-Manisa, Manisa-Akhisar, and Manisa-Turgutlu state roads. We tendered it on March 7, 2024, and delivered the site on April 4, 2024. With this project, we will relieve the increasing traffic in the area, where an average of 31,000 vehicles pass per day and heavy vehicle traffic is intense, and provide fast, secure, and uninterrupted transportation between the mentioned routes. At the same time, we will also offer access to the bus station from different points in the interchange area. With the project, we will save 220 million 800 thousand TL annually, including 213.5 million TL from time and 7.3 million TL from fuel. We will also contribute to the protection of nature by reducing the emissions of harmful vehicles by 538 tons.”

“High-speed train will be completed in 2027”
Minister Uraloğlu stated, “Manisa has a very deep-rooted railway history and there is a 349 kilometer railway network within the provincial borders. We renewed the Manisa-Salihli line, the Alaşehir-Uşak line, and the Manisa-Akhisar line. We have also completed the Electrification-Signalization-Telecommunication works of the 155 kilometer Manisa-Akhisar-Çalıköy line.” He added, “We have built a new station building in Akhisar. Within the scope of the Ankara-Izmir High-Speed Railway Project, we will also introduce Manisa to high-speed trains. We are rapidly continuing the construction in phases. God willing, we will complete and open it in 2027. When our project is completed, the travel time from Ankara to Izmir will decrease from 14 hours to 3.5 hours, and the distance between Ankara and Manisa will decrease to 2 hours and 50 minutes. Additionally, our works continue for the electrification and signaling of the 415 kilometer line between Manisa-Uşak-Afyonkarahisar. We have also included the construction of a junction line to the Manisa Organized Industrial Zone in our investment program. During the process of implementing our services, we will, of course, consult with each other and hold consultations. We are here today for that purpose. As members of the AK Party, we do not engage in ideological politics but in service politics, acting on the principle of ‘Let the state live by preserving the human.’ We believe that each of our projects planned for Manisa will significantly enhance Manisa’s potential in trade, production, and tourism activities. With these thoughts, I would like to thank all my valuable comrades who contributed to making our meeting take place in a manner befitting the AK Party, who have devoted their hearts to our cause, and who have put their hearts into it.”
After his speech, various gifts were presented to Minister Uraloğlu.