Dear Colleagues,

Republic of Turkey established on October 29, 1923, has won the approval of whole world with the modernization activities recorded in essential fields of a community such as social life, culture, arts, trade, industry and etc. Many steps in the name of innovation have been taken in construction field which is a base element to realize the positive changes as a sign of development. Especially in tunnelling and underground spaces market, the tunnels built with modern planning and construction methods are being put into operation one by one.

The Turkish Road Association (TRA) was established in 1990 with the mission of following and supporting the scientific and technological developments, evaluating and disseminating technical knowledge.

Becoming a member of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA-AITES) as “Member Nation” in 1994, TRA has been instrumental in transferring new inventions and new practices to the respective sectors and contributed to science and technology at the global level by holding national and international events for the past 30 years.

Strengthening its relations with international organizations, the Association organized many events, in cooperation with the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association and International Road Federation. One of the most important of these events is “ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2005 and 31^st General Assembly”, organized successfully in İstanbul / Turkey on May 7-12, 2005 in collaboration with the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association.

The year 2023 as the 100^th anniversary of Republic of Turkey has a great significance for our country. This anniversary will be celebrated with large events and many important projects will be put into service in 2023.

Within the scope of these celebrations, we as TRA are glad to be a candidate with Antalya / Turkey for hosting the “ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress 2023 & 49^th General Assembly” that will be held in 2023.

Herewith we would like to deliver detailed information about the tunnels and underground spaces built in our country to the participants, to follow the updates and developments in tunnel planning and construction technology of other countries, to provide mutual knowledge share and most importantly to celebrate this important year together with our beloved friends.

In addition to, we strongly believe that this event which to be held in our country will contribute to the development of the tunnelling industry. Also we are sure that new friendships and collaborations will be established on this great platform.

With the technical tours organized during the congress, the participants will have the chance to have a closer look to the ongoing or currently completed projects, meet the experts and be informed in details.

The proposed host city Antalya is certainly a excellent destination to satisfy the participants with its history, rich cultural heritage, natural beauties, commercial mission, being one of the most significant cities since ancient times and its experience in hosting several important events for years.

In addition, interested participants would experience the historical and natural beauties of Turkey with different tour options. Social programs will be designed for the accompanying persons.

All relevant governmental institutions of Republic of Turkey declared their support to host this event in Turkey. Moreover the industry representatives and experts specialized in tunnelling and underground spaces are looking forward to hosting their colleagues who will travel to Turkey for the Congress.

We as Turkish Road Association, we sincerely wishes to host all stakeholders in Turkey and to share our studies and developments. So to increase the participation and technical sharing, we will provide more reasonable registration fees to “Presenting Authors/Co-Authors, ITA-AITES Member Nation Category 3 Delegates and ITA-AITES Young Members” categories.

We look forward to seeing you in Antalya / Turkey in 2023.

TRA Organizing Committee