Turkey’s Transport Minister Binali Yildirim emerged as the likely new leader of the ruling AK Party and therefore the next prime minister, cementing President Tayyip Erdogan’s hold on government as he seeks to extend his powers.

Yildirim, 60, and a close ally of Erdogan for two decades, will be the sole candidate for the AKP leadership at a special party congress on Sunday, AKP spokesman Omer Celik told a news conference after a meeting of the party’s executive board.

Turkey has doubled the number of airports to more than 50, constructed high-speed train lines and built more than 17,000 km (10,500 miles) of highway during Yildirim’s time as minister. He has also overseen some of Erdogan’s pet projects, including an underground train tunnel linking the European and Asian sides of Istanbul, a third suspension bridge across the Bosphorus and a new Istanbul airport, billed to be one of the world’s biggest.

Yildirim was among the co-founders when Erdogan formed the AKP in 2001 and was elected as a deputy for Istanbul in November 2002 when the party won its first election. He was appointed transport, maritime and communications minister, a post which he then almost continuously held in successive governments.