Coronavirus cost Istanbul 5 billion liras, says mayor

FATMA AKSU – ISTANBUL

The coronavirus outbreak cost Turkey’s biggest metropolis Istanbul more than 5 billion Turkish Liras ($730 million), according to Ekrem İmamoğlu, the city’s mayor.

The cost could go up to over 6.5 billion liras ($950 million) if a second wave hits, İmamoğlu said on June 23 at a meeting to mark his first year in office.

“The outbreak has had a huge negative impact on the financial structure of the municipality. Unfortunately, the coronavirus crisis left its mark on our first year, like it did on other cities and countries,” said İmamoğlu.

The income of the public transport and cultural services operated by the municipality decreased to around 10 percent of the pre-pandemic era, according to data given by the mayor, making up the biggest part of the hit on the city’s budget.

İmamoğlu was elected in an election re-run last year on June 23, after the Supreme Election Council (YSK) said the initial elections on March 24 were marred by irregularities. On June 23, the mayor from the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) won by a sweeping majority against his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) candidate.

“When we came into the office, the municipality had no money even to pay people’s salaries,” he said, adding that cutting financial aid to some foundations and associations kept 700 million liras ($102 million) in the municipality’s coffers.

İmamoğlu also said a road map to keep the Golden Horn clean was in progress.

“The cleansing of the base of Haliç [Golden Horn] is ongoing. We are pumping 300,000 cubic meters of water from the Bosporus to Haliç every day,” said the mayor.

The issue of cleanliness of the Golden Horn has been a hot topic of political debates for years.