I think the BALO becoming operable was the best piece of news I have read in the last four months.

The people of Turkey swing from one extreme to the other. We either overdo or understate. Our mood is either great or terrible. We don’t like the middle courses. So we are again. If I had to describe the image in my head of the last four months in Turkey, I liken it to a ship adrift. It is impossible to set a positive agenda in this country. Just listen to the statements made by our administrators to get depressed. No matter what happens, it’s either someone tripped Turkey up or pulled its hair. Trouble is always at our door. No one tells a happy-going, happy-ending story. But believe it or not, good things also happen in Turkey. Starting with last weekend, all of Anatolia is now in the Customs Union. Turkey’s horizon as well as its export reach is to expand. Let me tell you what has happened and why it is important.

First details, then observations. With a ceremony held in Manisa, in western Turkey, last Sunday, the first train of the Büyük Anadolu Lojistik Organizasyonları (The Grand Anatolian Logistics Organizations Company,  BALO), established to carry out scheduled container train service from Anatolian cities to Europe departed from the station.

First, I would like to stress a few points. For starters, Turkey finally has scheduled container train service to Europe. More than half of Turkey’s exports go to Europe. But until last Sunday, the railway had not been used for the transportation of goods. The share of the railways in export transportation was less than one percent. The BALO is a firm step toward increasing this rate. Turkey now has scheduled container train service to Europe.

Second, the containers that come from the Anatolian cities will travel to Europe not through Istanbul but through Bandırma, Balıkesir-Muratlı, and Tekirdağ. This means the exhaust pollution and traffic congestion in Istanbul will diminish. From this perspective, the BALO is not only environment-friendly, but also Istanbul-friendly. Considering these, I believe the project is very important.

Third, it has the potential to improve railway liberalization in Turkey. True, the state owns the rails, railway cars and locomotives, but the train belongs to the people. And as far as I understood from Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım’s statements, the Ministry is open to the operation of private sector trains on the state’s railways.

I think that with the BALO, the TOBB and the Ministry of Transportation have taken a firm step to improve Turkey’s competitiveness and expand its export reach. There are three reasons. First, is that the share of Europe in exports at the province level will decrease from western to eastern Anatolia. The shares are 78 percent in Bursa, 61 percent in Izmir, 39 percent in Kayseri, 33 percent in Konya, and 24 percent in Gaziantep. Why? Because the competitiveness of the Anatolian provinces in the European market will weaken as oil prices and transportation costs increase. Transportation costs loosen Anatolia’s connection with Europe, making the Customs Union Agreement practically null. Second, in Gaziantep’s exports, Europe has a share of 24 percent and Middle Eastern countries have a total share of 60 percent. Out of the latter, 70 percent go to close neighbor Iraq. With the BALO, however, we can expect that Turkey’s export reach will expand. Turkey’s export reach decreased from 3,374 kilometers in 2000 to 2857 kilometers in 2012. Remember? In 2000, Turkey’s exports reached 66 countries, which accounted for about 50 percent of total world imports, while in 2012 this decreased to 55 countries that carried out less than 40 percent of total world exports. This trend might be reversed with the BALO. Third, the BALO is not simply about cheap goods transportation to Europe. At the same time, it can be considered a way for the fast transportation of goods to Pakistan and India. From this perspective, the project can further the expansion of Turkey’s export reach.

I think the BALO becoming operable was the best piece of news I have read in the last four months.

This commentary was published in Radikal daily on 10.09.2013