UK and Turkey agree clean transport deal worth £1.7 billion in boost to British rail industry

The UK government’s biggest ever sustainable, civil infrastructure deal will help finance a new high speed electric railway line in Turkey.

UK government’s biggest ever sustainable, civil infrastructure deal will help finance a new high speed electric railway line in Turkey to decarbonise travel, with major contracts awarded to British and Turkish businesses.

The EUR2.1 billion green financing will be guaranteed by UK Export Finance (UKEF), through its Buyer Credit Scheme, with Credit Suisse and Standard Chartered structuring and coordinating banks arranging the transaction.

This is the first UK-supported rail transaction in Turkey for over 160 years, and forms part of Turkey’s plan to transform high speed rail in the country.

The new 503km electric-powered railway line will connect Ankara, Tukey’s capital, to the huge port-side city of Izmir. When complete, the new line will provide a faster, lower carbon alternative to current air and road routes between the two cities, helping to fulfil Turkey’s climate change commitments made at COP26.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, International Trade Secretary said, “Turkey is a vital trading partner for the UK. Our shared global outlook on free trade and the environment is the driving force behind economic growth in our two nations.

It is fitting that UK Export Finance’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.

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