Image: Twitter / Anne-Marie Trevelyan
The UK has signed a £1.7 billion clean transport deal with Turkey to build an electric railway line to decarbonise Turkish travel.
UK Export Finance (UKEF) will guarantee the £1.7 billion loan to construct the 503km railway.
This is the first time in more than 160 years that a UK-supported rail transaction has happened in Turkey and it will connect the capital of Ankara to port city Izmir.
With fully electric high speed rail in place, it will mark a huge step in Turkey achieving its climate goals made at COP26.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan, International Trade Secretary, said: “It is fitting that UKEF’s biggest ever civil infrastructure deal is strongly sustainable. This is a proud moment for the UK railway industry, using its industrial roots to reduce emissions in heavily polluted cities.”
Turkish Finance Minister, Nureddin Nebati, said:…