Istanbul is done, invest in developing cities: Minister

ISTANBUL

A housing settlement area at Beylikdüzü district in Istanbul is seen in this aerial photo. Istanbul’s construction capacity is full, the minister Bayraktar has said. DAILY NEWS photo, Emrah GÜREL

Istanbul’s time to raise money is over, said Turkish Environment Minister Erdoğan Bayraktar urging construction firms to invest in İzmir, Bursa and Diyarbakır instead of Istanbul.

“Contractors need to go to developing cities,” the minister said. “Those cities promise more earnings, because contractors can make more money from their work as the cities develop more.”

The minister pointed to İzmir as the first target for construction firms to make investments in. The region comprising İzmir and two developed Aegean cities, Manisa and Aydın, carries a huge potential to cultivate construction projects, he said.

His second proposal was to turn toward Bursa, since the city will coalesce with Istanbul as the gulf passage project that will bypass the İzmit gulf with a bridge to directly connect Istanbul to Bursa and İzmir is put into effect. The minister also suggested Gaziantep or Diyarbakır would be feasible choices for establishing construction projects since these cities are going through a development process also.

Two new cities

In his remarks about the urban housing sector, the minister also shared the details of one of the two new urban areas set to be established within Istanbul.

One of these areas, for which project studies have been completed, will be located on the European side of Istanbul in the area where a third airport will be built. The Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) has completed 20,000 houses already, he announced.

The minister said this settlement area would be an ecological site where every income group could live comfortably.

“As the construction of public transportation and alternative linking roads in the area are completed, it will be a glorious world city that will boost Turkey’s and Istanbul’s brand value.”

Growing housing stocks in Istanbul

The construction sector has been building more houses than Istanbul really needs. As Istanbul’s population increases, prompting housing demand to surge, the housing supply increases more.

Istanbul’s population is 13.8 million according to the latest data provided by the Turkish Statistical Institute. Meanwhile, there are approximately 4 million houses, showing one house for every three people. Approximately 130,000 houses are built every year, but around 83,000 of them are sold.