site.btaTurkiye Plans New Customs Checkpoint with Bulgaria Next to Kapikule

A new customs checkpoint between Turkiye and Bulgaria is planned to be opened north of the Kapikule border crossing. The project was announced by Turkish Minister of Trade Omer Bolat during a meeting with representatives of the International Association of Carriers, reported the website Haberler. Kapikule is across from Bulgaria’s Kapitan Andreevo.

“The draft agreement for the opening of a new customs checkpoint north of Kapikule between Bulgaria and Turkiye was sent to us by the Bulgarian Parliament. On our side, we are ready to open an additional checkpoint precisely in this area. This is very important for our deliveries to Europe. It will also allow for new commercial transport,” said the minister.

According to him, the ongoing difficult conditions due to the conflict in the Persian Gulf have made passage through the Strait of Hormuz dangerous for the logistics sector, causing an unusual increase in prices in the sector. He added that, in this context, Turkiye is seeking solutions and resources to cope with the challenging situation.

Bolat said that implementing a project for a new checkpoint immediately next to Kapikule would contribute to even faster development of Turkiye’s logistics sector.

“This will provide significant opportunities to increase trade transport to Europe. A new corridor, a new channel, will be opened. It will reduce congestion at Kapikule and at the other Turkiye-Bulgaria border crossing Hamzabeyli, as well as Ipsala on our border with Greece. I wanted to share this important, up-to-date news with you first,” he added.

At the meeting with representatives of the International Association of Carriers, it was noted that Turkiye holds a significant share of global logistics exports, reports Haberler.

Last year, the value of Turkiye’s logistics services exports reached USD 42.4 billion. The market volume of the logistics sector in the Turkish economy exceeds USD 100 billion.