CHP Istanbul mayoral candidate Sarıgül supports 3rd Istanbul airport, objects to location

ISTANBUL

The new airport should be built in the western district of Silivri as had been planned at the beginning, Sarıgül said. AA Photo

The main opposition Republican People’s Party’s (CHP) Istanbul Mayoral candidate Mustafa Sarıgül has expressed his support for the third airport project for Istanbul, taking issue with the choice of location for it.

The new airport should be built in the western district of Silivri as had been planned at the beginning, rather than in northern Istanbul where the city’s forests are located, Sarıgül said during a press conference on March 24.

“The third airport should be built. We support the project. But we should reconsider its location. The airport was to be built in the Silivri region in plans prepared by Istanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş,” he said, adding that the plans were changed upon an order by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Sarıgül has warned that the project would damage the surrounding nature if the third airport was built in the northern forests, promising to negotiate over the plan after local elections on March 30.

Third bridge

Sarıgül criticized the third Bosphorus bridge, saying that the project could have been built without damaging the green pattern in the region by building a tunnel. He stressed that 1.2 million trees had been cut down so far while a tunnel worth $150-200 million could have prevented this loss.

Sarıgül also promised a 200-kilometer-long metro line for the future 5-year-term as the Istanbul mayor, hoping that CHP will be remembered as the party which solves the traffic problem in the city.