İzmir-Gebze highway plan still on table

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım. AA photo

The Council of State’s decision to halt the Gebze-Orhangazi-İzmir Highway build-operate-transfer project does not mean that the project will come to an end, and it would be wrong to interpret it as such, Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım has said. 

The decision repealed a Prime Ministry notice exempting the project from environmental impact assessments (ÇED). The Prime Ministry will appeal the ruling within seven days, according to Yıldırım. 

“This Council of State’s decision will not stop the project from going forward. In any event, the case and its appeals process is still continuing. This decision is not yet a final ruling,” said Yıldırım, speaking to the Anatolian news agency.