New subway line to be built in Istanbul: Mayor Topbaş

ISTANBUL

A new subway line will be built to reach the Silivri district of Istanbul, Mayor Kadir Topbaş announced on April 13. 

Topbaş said work on designing the new 32.5-kilometer long metro line is ongoing and the total cost would be $1.6 billion.

“We are including the metro construction works in the program and project designing efforts are continuing. It costs $50 million for each 1,000 meters,” Topbaş said at a meeting in Silivri.

“At the moment, we don’t owe a single lira to the state, a finance institution, or a bank. We have money in our account. Resources are coming to us in the same way, as we receive the same as what other municipalities in Turkey receive. In fact we receive less proportionally than municipalities in the east. This city now tries to produce its own resources. Where were these resources in the past? Why weren’t they transformed into services? Silivri didn’t even have infrastructure or water. These were our first services. We brought natural gas here” he also said. 

Saying the municipality faced “opposition obstacles” during that process, Topbaş noted that members of the opposition filed complaints against several projects. 

“Because of expert reports our plans were cancelled. Were our efforts wrong? Why were they prevented? If it’s beneficial work, it should be supported. There can be no political competition in these subjects. You shouldn’t say: ‘They should fail so voters will come to us.’ You should say: ‘They may be successful but we will do better,’” he added. 

During his speech, Topbaş stressed that the opposition voted “no” to many transportation plans in the municipal council. 

“You are preventing work when you stop the transportation plans of the Istanbul Municipality from being approved in the municipal council. Unfortunately, the opposition has voted ‘no’ to many of our transportation plans,” he said.