2021 to be metro year in Istanbul, says mayor

ISTANBUL

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The construction of metro lines in the metropolis has been continuing and 2021 will be the year of the metro, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu told daily Posta on Sept. 18.

“One of the busy lines, Mahmutbey-Mecidiyeköy, will be opened at the end of October,” said İmamoğlu, adding by the end of next year, he aims to shorten the two hours of road traffic to 55 minutes of subway traversal transportation.

While answering a question about the expected Istanbul earthquake, İmamoğlu said, “It is a national security issue, we have to work on this with all institutions under an ombudsman system.”

He also put the possibility of an earthquake at the top of his list. “I see three threats to the metropolis. One, earthquake. Two, Kanal Istanbul. Three, refugees,” he said, referring to an artificial waterway project aiming to connect the Black and Marmara seas.

İmamoğlu underlined that he does not only mean the Syrians by saying refugees as the third threat to the city. “The problem is not only the Syrians. According to U.N. records, 1.6 million refugees live in Istanbul.”