Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey

Sarp Customs Gate, modernized by the Customs and Tourism Enterprises Co. Inc. (GTİ Co. Inc.), a subsidiary of TOBB, was opened to service with a ceremony attended by TOBB President M. Rifat Hisarcıklıoğlu, Trade Minister Ruhsar Pekcan, Georgia Finance Minister Ivane Matchavarian, Georgian Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development George Kobulia, GTİ Co. Inc. Chairman Arif Parmaksız, TİM President İsmail Gülle, TESK President Bendevi Palandöken and regional chamber / commodity exchange presidents. President of the Republic of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan also took part in the ceremony via videoconference.

TOBB President Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that the economy operates on a basic rule. “If there is trade, there is money. There is prosperity if there is money. Our dream is to turn the trade routes back to this region. We this is the dream we pursue. By renovating the Sarp Border Gate we are a step closer to turning this dream into reality. This will be the gateway of the Black Sea and then Anatolia to the Caucasus and Central Asia.”

Stating that they always acted with this vision as TOBB, Hisarcıklıoğlu said, “We have realized a first in the world with the positive approach and approval of our government. We started to modernize the land customs gates with build-operate-transfer model. In doing so, we did not charge a single lira to the state. On the contrary, the government's tax revenues increased exponentially thanks to more efficient and voluminous border gates.”

Reminding that they have renewed 10 border crossings, Hisarcıklıoğlu said that the gates they modernized had reduced wait times by half and that the volume of passage increased by 4 times.

Hisarcıklıoğlu emphasized that they invested 1.382 billion TRY as the Chamber-Exchange community for all these reasons, “So we saved the state from spending that much money. From the revenue obtained from these gates, we paid 605 million TRY of tax to the government. That means that as the Chamber-Exchange community, we have provided 2 billion TRY to our government's coffers. Not only the government, but also our private sector, our members, have benefited as well.

Thanks to the modernization, the wait times of goods carrying trucks were shortened. According to a public survey, our private sector saved 410 million TRY per annum from freight costs. In other words, every year, our country's industrialist, merchant, entrepreneur have gained over 410 million TRY in savings.

Stating that their practice, achieved through public-private cooperation, is widely admired throughout the world, the TOBB President explained that it is being pointed out as an example by the United Nations around the world and all the world that if they wish to make border crossings faster and safer, it should be done as Turkey has done it. Hisarcıklıoğlu stated that they have presented this model to neighboring countries and shared their experiences.”

Hisarcıklıoğlu stated Turkey has jumped in logistics thanks to the modernization of the customs gate, said, “When we started these investments, in 2010 we ranked 39^th the World Bank Logistics Index. After the modernization of the gates, we rose to 34^th place.”

Noting that all this is done without spending a single lira from the state budget, TOBB President said, “We have invested 155 million TRY to renew the Sarp Customs Gate. The field area increased from 36,000 square meters to 44,000 square meters and the platform number from 8 to 12. This border gate will be the gateway of the Black Sea region to central Asia. Black Sea region will prosper, Turkey will prosper, Georgia will prosper. As trade increases, friendship relations will be strengthened. Political relations will be strengthened. With our Georgian brothers, we will start to meet and talk more. So we will all win together.”

- Trade Minister Pekcan

Minister of Trade, Ruhsar Pekcan, said that they have realized the modernization of the Sarp Border Gate, where Europe and Asia meet.

Pekcan said, “The way to thrive in the new world order, to move up to the league of more powerful economies, higher-income countries and spread prosperity to all segments of society as well as leaving a stronger and brighter country for future generations is through trade. Our work here is to facilitate and improve trade, to modernize customs gates, to digitalize, make transparent and more active.”

Pekcan stating that as the ministry, the demands and needs of the traders are kept in mind when working on reforms, said, “We are constantly consulting; opinions and suggestions are evaluated. We are working together to remove the barriers to trade whether you are an employer, an exporter; it is not important who we are, what we do and how we do it is important. Therefore, we’ve all worked and continue to do the best we can.”

Stating that they always support the business world as the Ministry, Pekcan said, “We will continually work to ensure that work is faster, easier, cheaper, more reliable and more transparent at customs. We have taken serious steps on the path to digitalization towards these goals. We'll go even further.”

- GTİ Co Inc. Chairman Arif Parmaksız

Customs and Tourism Enterprises (GTİ) A.Ş. Chairman Arif Parmaksız said that the Sarp Customs Gate was modernized in 2009 and started to rebuild in 2016 in order to increase the capacity due to the intensity of the passport-free pass.

- TİM President İsmail Gülle

TİM President İsmail Gülle expressed his wishes that the customs gate would be beneficial both to the region and to the two countries and to the Turkish economy.