Transport Minister Uraloğlu: The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality did not use the metro loan it received from the EU for the metro.

22.06.2025 14:10

The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, regarding the halted projects after the operations and arrests at the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (IBB), stated, "They received a metro loan of 110 million euros from the European Union, but they did not use 60 million euros of it. I do not know where they spent this money."

The Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, met with journalists ahead of the 'Global Transport Corridors Forum' to be held between June 27 and June 29. Minister Uraloğlu answered questions from the press during the meeting.

"I WISH THERE HAD BEEN NO NEED FOR OPERATIONS AGAINST İBB"

Responding to a question about the future of metro investments due to operations against İBB, Uraloğlu said, "I don't find it appropriate to say too much about the operations carried out there regarding the processes in Istanbul. Let me answer your question. The construction of light rail system lines in city centers, apart from railway connections - which is more or less the same for highways - is the responsibility of the municipality there. Whether it is a metropolitan municipality, a province, or a district, if a project is to be carried out, it should be done by the municipality there. We would have been more pleased if there had been no need for operations against İBB. It is not possible for us to take over the failing works here with our own initiative. However, this is possible if the relevant party requests it. Of course, when they request it, we will definitely evaluate 'where we should be there.' But I can say that so far, we have not received any requests."

CLAIM THAT 60 MILLION EURO EU LOAN WAS NOT USED FOR THE ASSIGNED WORK

Uraloğlu stated, "I read that a metro project financed by the European Union IBRD, which connects the financial capital, was not used for the work despite receiving a large amount of credit from a consortium of three major companies. I was surprised. I thought, 'There is exaggeration here. I don't think it's very accurate.' The representatives of those companies visited me. And just as you said, 'The work has stopped here. Please take this over.' I explained how we could take it over. I said that there is already a loan, and our Minister Mehmet Şimşek also approved the last package of 110 million euros - if I remember correctly. I asked why they stopped. They said, 'The previous 60 million euros were not used for our work.' Once, I couldn't comprehend how this could happen. I mean, I don't see how such a thing could be feasible, and with what courage, really, where was it used? I don't have information on that, but a 60 million euro EU loan was not used for the assigned work. There is a consultant from the credit institution, there is control from the administration, and that is why it stopped. This is a process that occurred after the well-known process in Istanbul began. I really don't know where it went, but such courage is an interesting kind of courage," he said.

"IMEC IS A REACTIONARY APPROACH, NOT PLANNED"

Answering a question about trade corridors that include Turkey, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, "We will rehabilitate the approximately 660-kilometer section of the line from Sivas, which is an important part of the middle corridor, to our Kars border. For now, we will eliminate the capacity problem there by rehabilitating it. Again, as an important part of the Development Road Corridor, of course, we will make all of them double track. However, we will tender the section between Nusaybin-Cizre-Ovaköy, where there is not even a single track, this year. We will start work there. We have tendered the section between Kurtalan-Siirt. We received the bids today, and our colleagues are evaluating them. We will connect another province with the railway. The IMEC corridor was discussed at the G7 summit as an alternative to the Development Road Corridor. A corridor was proposed that would enter from Oman and reach Israel's Haifa port through Saudi Arabia. The Development Road Corridor is an action-oriented approach. IMEC is a reactionary approach, not planned. These will always exist. In the coming days, the corridor will be discussed again, depending on the situation in Israel. We believe this is the right measure. You don't need to take a share of the existing freight transportation in the world. Even if you take a share of the surplus, I think these corridors are necessary," he said.

"WE HAVE IMPLEMENTED AROUND 70 BUILD-OPERATE-TRANSFER PROJECTS OF VARIOUS SIZES"

Responding to a question about the Build-Operate-Transfer Projects carried out by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Minister Uraloğlu said, "We will receive the Istanbul-Izmir Highway in a maintained condition in 2035. We will take over the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and part of the highway in 2028, and we will take over the entire Northern Marmara Highway in 2029 and 2030. We will take over the Menemen-Aliağa-Chandarlı Highway in 2030, and again the Ankara-Niğde Highway in 2035, and the Çanakkale Bridge and its highways in 2034. In other words, starting from 2028, we will have taken them over to the public. These are highly criticized projects. Look, these companies are building and operating these places according to the process foreseen in the contract for 10 years, 15 years, or 20 years, and they hand them over to us after performing heavy maintenance. Therefore, we will take them over after 2028. What will our decision be there? Of course, we may have tendered their re-operation. If we want, we can certainly do it for free. But probably regarding reasonable fees, either our General Directorate of Highways will operate them itself or tender it with an operating model. When we reach 2034 and take over these highways, there will be no problem with the Ministry of Transport's budget needs. We are talking about a valuable structure like this. As a ministry, we have implemented around 70 Build-Operate-Transfer Projects of various sizes. If you ask which ones, there are 7 highways, and there are airports.

Highway service facilities located on highways are also build-operate-transfer facilities. When we add these, we have made an investment of approximately 51 billion dollars in public-private partnership from Galataport to Tersane Istanbul. "If we were to do it today, the cost would be 83 billion dollars," he said.

"WE HAVE 7 AIRPLANES LEFT IN IRAN AND 4 IN IRAQ"

Answering a question about the planes belonging to Turkish companies remaining in the countries in the region due to the Iran-Israel conflict, Minister Uraloğlu said, "We have 7 airplanes in Iran and 4 in Iraq due to the Iran-Israel conflict. Pegasus has 7, Turkish Airlines has 2, Ajet has 1, and Tailwind has 1 airplane. We are monitoring these through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and our National Intelligence Organization. Due to the intense air movement, rocket, and missile activity in that region, both the relevant countries and we could not take that risk, frankly. All teams stayed there for 3-4 days. Now we have brought all the teams to ensure their safety. We are monitoring daily. If there is an opportunity, we will take them at the first chance," he said.

"60 TRAINS PASS THROUGH THE MEDIUM CORRIDOR DAILY"

Answering questions about the Development Road and the Medium Corridor, Minister Uraloğlu said, "No excavation has been done yet on the Iraqi side regarding the Development Road. We are still discussing financing. I mentioned that the project is about 95% complete, roughly. Our expectation is to take a step towards securing financing this year and to start next year. I said that we should have alternatives for the Development Road and the Medium Corridor. It would be appropriate to mention Zengezur in the Medium Corridor as well. That will create a very serious alternative within the Medium Corridor itself. Of course, if conditions improve, its attractiveness will increase, but already a large amount of the cargo transported by rail is carried from there. We can say there are 20,000 trains a year. In other words, I can say that 60 trains pass through daily. The capacity there is roughly full. There are no possibilities to pass much more. However, if they make new and large investments, which there are currently none, then in the short, medium, and even long term, it will definitely not weaken the medium corridor. Because that place is really strong right now," he said.

Source: DHA, AA