26.06.2025 19:40
In his speech at the groundbreaking and mass opening ceremony in Güngören, Istanbul, President Erdoğan emphasized the importance of urban transformation. Erdoğan stated, "We are determined to make every effort we can without experiencing greater pain or paying heavier costs. Urban transformation is not just a choice for us; it is almost a matter of national security."
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President Erdoğan spoke at the Key Delivery, Groundbreaking, and Mass Opening Ceremony of 1930 Housing and Business Places in Güngören. Emphasizing the importance of urban transformation, President Erdoğan highlighted that this is a matter of national security.
Highlights from President Erdoğan's statements are as follows:
"I thank you for your love, solidarity, and sincerity. You have always embraced this brother of yours. We have tried to be worthy of your favor. Today, we are here with new good news for you. Today, we are inaugurating our Güngören National Garden, the district police headquarters building, and our Ayyıldız Primary School. Our national garden, covering an area of 35,655 square meters, is impressive with its trees, green spaces, and national library."
PRESIDENT ERDOĞAN: WE WILL APPROACH OUR RESILIENT ISTANBUL GOAL We are officially putting our district police headquarters building, which has a total area of 3,650 square meters, into service today along with its courtyard. We are meeting an important need with our Ayyıldız Primary School, where our children in Güngören will receive quality education. We are handing over the keys of 798 independent units, consisting of 768 completed housing units and 30 business places, to the rightful owners.
We will lay the foundations of the Tozkoparan 4th phase, consisting of 1,132 independent units, 1,077 of which are housing and 55 are business places, which we expect to be completed in 2020. Thus, we hope to deliver 1,930 independent units, 1,845 of which are housing and 85 are business places, by the summer of 2027. Remember, we will be strong, we will be alive, we will be brothers, and together we will be powerful.
Words fly, but works remain. We will take one more step towards our resilient Istanbul goal. I sincerely congratulate everyone who contributed to these works, which are the product of intense effort and a challenging process. I thank our Ministry of Environment, our Ministry of National Education, and our contracting companies on behalf of myself and my nation.
I wish that my rightful brothers will live in these houses with joy and work in their new workplaces in abundance and prosperity. These investments, with a project value of 7 billion 324 million lira, show our love for Istanbul and our passion for serving Güngören.
"CITIES ARE LIVING BEINGS THAT BREATHE JUST LIKE HUMANS" Being the servant of the nation with our ministries, municipalities, and all our institutions and staff is our greatest honor. For 23 years, we have been serving our cities with love, tirelessly and without rest. I want to emphasize this point; cities are just like humans. They are living beings that breathe. Cities, with their culture, architecture, and historical accumulation, are places that carry a soul. Our understanding of urbanism is based on creating human-centered, environmentally conscious, planned, programmed, modern, and safe cities.
"CARRYING ISTANBUL INTO THE FUTURE WITH CONFIDENCE IS OUR GREATEST DUTY" We are aware of this truth; if you do not develop cities, you cannot revive generations, you cannot make cities prosperous, and you cannot guide the nation. You cannot elevate trade, economy, development, and growth to the desired level. You cannot establish social peace, unity, and solidarity. The issue is to revive the city with its architecture, planning, infrastructure, and superstructure. Protecting, safeguarding, and confidently carrying this city, which shines in the eyes of everyone when its name is mentioned, like Istanbul, is our greatest duty.
"URBAN TRANSFORMATION IS A MATTER OF NATIONAL SECURITY" To fulfill this duty properly, we must make Istanbul resilient to disasters, especially earthquakes. We still feel the pains of the August 17 Marmara earthquake deep in our hearts. The disaster of the century we experienced on February 6 has shown us this; the opportunity to complete our earthquake preparations can knock on our door at any moment without warning. Urban transformation is not a choice for us, but rather a matter of national security. We have thankfully completed the transformation of 923,000 housing units and business places in Istanbul.
The transformation process of 208,915 housing units and business places is ongoing. We have opened 34 national gardens in Istanbul, covering an area of 5 million 579 thousand square meters. In April, we updated the support amounts in the "Half of It is Ours" campaign. We increased the moving assistance from 100,000 lira to 125,000 lira, and the interest-free loan amount from 700,000 lira to 875,000 lira. Thus, we have raised the total support amount for the transformation of a house in Istanbul and other cities from 1 million 500 thousand lira to 1 million 875 thousand lira.
"WE UPDATED GRANT AND LOAN SUPPORTS FOR BUSINESS PLACES" We updated the grant and loan supports for business places and the moving assistance. We have reached a level of 1 million lira for the state support we provide for the transformation of a business place. We have included 1 million 17 thousand housing units and business places in the transformation scope in Istanbul. We are transforming 2 million 317 thousand independent units across the country. Together, we will successfully manage this process, God willing.
"WE WILL SHOW EVERY EFFORT WITHOUT PAYING HEAVIER COSTS" We are determined to show every effort without experiencing greater pains or paying heavier costs. We have transformed this place with its parks, green areas, sports fields, children's play areas, mosques, schools, and social facilities into a new face. We have presented a safe, comfortable neighborhood that embodies the culture of neighborliness to our citizens in Istanbul.
"THEY DID EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO PREVENT URBAN TRANSFORMATION" While we worked day and night to provide you with safe homes in Tozkoparan, some people stood against us again. The main opposition, along with all the known circles, did everything they could to prevent urban transformation here. They organized protests, rushed to the courts, and cried out in opposition. They labeled it as rent-seeking transformation and criticized it.
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This was done by the CHP. It was done by the marginal groups they collaborated with. Those who left almost no merchant, businessman, or tradesman unexploited in Istanbul shamelessly and immorally attacked the work being done here. As you know, they are very skilled at obstruction and distortion.
"THEY OPPOSED URBAN TRANSFORMATION IN OUR CITIES DESTROYED BY THE EARTHQUAKE" Remember; the same mentality targeted our projects with similar claims on the eve of the February 6 earthquakes. They opposed the urban transformation to be carried out in our cities destroyed by the earthquake. We buried more than 53 thousand of our loved ones in one night. We faced a heavy economic bill exceeding 100 billion dollars. Our hearts ached as a nation. So, did they regret it? Did they get their act together? Of course not! They continued to act as if nothing had happened.
"THEY HAVE ABSOLUTE NULLITY ON THEIR AGENDA BUT NO WORK" They still do not learn their lesson. Their agenda is filled with profit, but there is absolute nullity, and there is no work, no service, and no urban transformation at all. Sorry, but we have no tolerance for living the same pains again. We are extremely determined regarding urban transformation. We will never allow our progress in building resilient cities to be hindered. We cannot deal with anyone's ideological obsessions and whims.
Last week, we delivered the keys to our 250,000th disaster housing in Maraş. By the end of the year, we will complete 203 thousand more of our houses. We will deliver a total of 453 thousand new houses, village houses, and workplaces to our earthquake victims. We will have completed the largest housing and urban planning mobilization in our history in the best way possible. We will focus all our strength and resources on urban transformation in Istanbul.
The main opposition will not be allowed to distract us with shallow discussions to cover up the corruption in Istanbul. We will speak with our works and investments, we will produce work, not words. May God be our helper. With these thoughts, I wish the works we have inaugurated to be beneficial."