The new Secretary General of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Prof. Dr. Adem Baştürk spoke on the main problems of Istanbul during his first press conference held on 1 July 2009. Mr Baştürk noted that the most urgent and crucial problems of Istanbul were traffic, pollution and earthquake. He said that urban transformation and public transportation were at the top of municipality's agenda.

Speaking to the press, Mr Baştürk said that the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's budget, missions and responsibilities have broadened with the increase in population of the city. "People became much more demanding as a consequence of the increase in their income and life standards. Private cars increased enormously in last 10 years. It is not possible to destroy the settlements and build new roads in the city. Therefore we have to work more on public transportation. We are going to invest on underground metro systems. Our primary goal is to build new rail systems and finish the ones we are working on now."

Mr Baştürk also spoke about the water and waste water problems. He said that although it was highly expensive, the municipality has biological treatment plants projects and would realize it in the new period. Secretary General Baştürk also pointed out the urgency of taking measures for the possible earthquake in Istanbul. He noted that urban transformation had to go together with the earthquake measures.

Mr Baştürk emphasized the importance of the Urban Transformation Law which is pending for the moment and pointed out the role of Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM) in the process. He also mentioned the effects of economic crisis and financial difficulties and the necessity to find new financial resources for the new investment projects.

Source: http://www.ibb.gov.tr/tr-TR/Pages/Haber.aspx?NewsID=17490