IRU awards His Excellency, Mr Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Turkey, the IRU Order of Merit, in appreciation of his exceptional contribution to the development of the road transport network in Turkey, including the introduction of ADR in 2010.

Izmir - The International Road Transport Union (IRU) is pleased to announce that it has awarded the IRU Order of Merit to His Excellency, Mr Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of the Republic of Turkey, in appreciation of his exceptional contribution to the development of road transport in Turkey and notably as an exemplary supporter of the IRU’s work to facilitate road transport on the main trade itineraries between Turkey and the ECO and BSEC regions.

IRU Secretary General, Martin Marmy, commended His Excellency, Mr Yıldırım, highlighting, “Your work in developing road infrastructure, regulations and other programmes to increase road safety, have greatly contributed to the facilitation of road transport in Turkey. We are honoured to award you with the IRU Order of Merit as a token of our appreciation for your exceptional achievements”.

Since taking office in 2003, Mr Yıldırım has successfully achieved significant positive developments for the road transport industry, including the first ever Turkish Road Transport Law, the reorganisation of a national vehicle technical inspection system using the best international standards and the launch of a programme worth some USD 180 million, to withdraw 76,000 old commercial vehicles from service. The share of investment in the transport and communications sectors increased from 17% of total public investments in 2003 to 46% in 2011, with the total investment in the transport industry over this period amounting to approximately USD 68 billion.

Moreover, he worked to regulate conditions of access to the profession and the market, in full compliance with EU rules, and working hand in hand with the IRU, he successfully introduced ADR in Turkey in 2010.

In terms of infrastructure, the inter-provincial state network of dual carriageways was increased from 6,000km to 22,000km, existing infrastructure was extensively repaired and modernised and other major road-building projects were undertaken including the construction of new main north-south axes.  As a result of the improvements to the road network, the number and severity of traffic accidents decreased dramatically.

Download high resolution picture of His Excellency, Mr Binali Yıldırım

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Press contact: Juliette Ebélé, +41 22 918 27 07, press@iru.org