The most important infrastructure projects in Istanbul and their advantages

The infrastructure in Istanbul is a strong and developed structure, built to keep pace with the times and suit the latest construction and investment projects.

What distinguishes infrastructure projects in Istanbul?

Infrastructure projects in Istanbul are distinguished as pioneering projects that have been able in this field to obtain very advanced positions in developed countries.

In fact, these projects have made Turkey one of the most important investment countries in the modern era, because they are comprehensive, modern and are planned to keep pace with the needs of the modern era.

In Istanbul, there is one of the largest airports in the world, one of the longest suspension bridges, as well as one of the largest medical cities in Europe, in addition to the rest of the projects related to the sectors of education, transportation, roads, parks, communication networks, water and sewage networks, and other important projects for the country's development and economic growth.

How have infrastructure projects developed in Istanbul in recent years?

The interest in infrastructure projects in Istanbul has increased in recent years. The public sector has planned and implemented huge projects, and allowed the private sectors to participate in the development and expansion process of infrastructure, and increased interest in planning and implementation to extract the country's internal wealth. The economy grew and flourished, and Istanbul attracted the attention of the world and investors from the entire world in general and the Arab world in particular.

What are the most important infrastructure projects in Istanbul?

There are many vital important infrastructure projects, but it can be said that the most important projects in Istanbul recently, the Eurasia Tunnel, which connects Asia with Europe, the third bridge or what is known as Yavus Sultan Selim Bridge, Istanbul Airport, which is one of the largest airports in the world, the medical city in Basaksehir Istanbul International Financial Investment Center, New Istanbul Water Canal.

1. Roads and transportation

Land roads in general, and highways, in particular, have a significant impact on economic and social development, as they are arteries that connect countries between each other and between cities within a single country. These roads facilitate the movement of trade, tourism and business. The highways are flat and wide, which ensures the passage of a good number of transport vehicles on the same road.

Turkey's highways have witnessed a renaissance in terms of construction and development, and suspension bridges between the two banks of the straits. Long tunnels played a prominent role in this field, some of which penetrated the seas, and some of them shortened the distance between the mountains by thousands of meters. All this was accomplished in the best way and in the best way to facilitate the movement of roads, transportation and business in this strategic city.

The following four roads are among the most important main roads in the city:

TEM Road:

The European E80 road passes through Istanbul to be known as the TEM road. This road starts from the Bosphorus Strait at the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and ends in the Çatalca area, making this road an indispensable addition to the transportation sector in Istanbul.

Both sides of the road wıtness a remarkable urban renaissance, as there are many large and high-end commercial and residential projects and complexes.

Among the main and vital roads in the city are also Basin Ekspres Road, the E-80 main road, and the E-5 international road.

2. Airports

Airports are the first destination for the traveler or tourist, and usually the evaluation of the city starts from the airport. Therefore, airports were placed among the priority of investment projects; Ataturk Airport in European Istanbul was recently designated only for cargo, maintenance, general aviation, business, government and diplomatic aircraft, while all commercial passenger flights are handled at the newly created Istanbul Airport.

The third Istanbul Airport project ranked first on the list of the largest infrastructure projects in the world, with an estimated value of $6,4 billion. The airport opened in April of 2019, when it caught the world's attention with its large design and capacity, despite the opening of the first phase of it only.

Istanbul's new airport is among the top 10 airports in the world, and it is planned to be the largest European airport after the completion of the final phase and its opening in all its parts in 2023, with a capacity of 250 million passengers annually, and 500 aircraft on the runways at one time.

Sabiha Gökçen Airport there, on the Asian side, enhances Istanbul's tourist and service position, which opened in 2001, was renovated and expanded in 2008, and can accommodate 3 million passengers annually. Actually, many travelers and visitors prefer Sabiha Airport due to its generally low congestion, which leads to better service and discounted offers on airline tickets that operate within it.

3. Subway (Metro)

One of the important factors that contribute to the development of the infrastructure of any city is the transportation network, and Istanbul is characterized by many types of transportation, and the metro is one of the most important and fastest means of transportation that developed countries adopt.

Among the vital and important strategic projects launched by the Turkish government in Istanbul last year, the "Metro Everywhere to Anywhere" campaign aims to extend metro projects in the city and connect all parts of the city underground through a developed and expanded metro network.

The Marmaray metro line, which crosses the European side to the Asian side, passing under the Bosphorus, is one of the most important projects implemented in 2013, with a capacity of about 150,000 passengers per trip.

There are many metro line projects opened by the government by the year 2020, and the largest of these projects was the Gebze-Halkali metro line project, which links the far Asian side of Istanbul with European Istanbul, and passes from the bottom of the Bosphorus, with a long railway line consisting of 43 stations.

There are still many projects planned to be implemented, including the Sultanbeyli - Çekmeköy metro, the Mahmutbey - Esenyurt line, the Başakşehir-Kayaşehir line, and many others.

4. Tunnels

The rocks of the mountains and the depths of the sea did not make an obstacle against infrastructure renaissance in Turkey. According to statistics last year, Turkey dug about 567 km underground at a cost of $4 billion in order to develop the transportation sector and infrastructure.

In the past year alone, 12 tunnels were opened, with a total length of 23 km. The Eurasia Tunnel is considered one of the most important infrastructure projects that were opened in Turkey in general and in Istanbul in particular.

This tunnel was officially opened in 2016 for vehicles, connecting the Asian and European parts of Istanbul under the sea. It is 14 meters high and extends up to 14.6 km, of which 3.4 km is under the bottom of the Bosphorus.

Its capacity is 120,000 cars per day, and it is equipped with an earthquake-resistant mechanism that facilitates the expansion, contraction or curvature of the concrete structure in the event of earthquakes so that it does not pose a threat. It is noteworthy that there are 370 tunnels, and the Turkish government aims to dig a network of 470 tunnels with a length of 647 km by 2023.

5. Means of Communication and Internet

To know the development of any country or city, you have to look at the means of communication in it. From this point, Turkey has been keen to modernize its communications network. It launched eight multi-tasking satellites, developed landline, mobile and Internet networks, and encouraged communication companies to invest in them.

There are three main companies that provide mobile phone service and fast internet, represented by Türk Telekom, Turkcell, and Vodafone. These companies compete with each other to provide the best services, best speed and prices.

Internet lines subscription speeds start with 8 megabytes, and go up to 100 megabytes. Connections are characterized by high-speed fiber-optic cables along the coast.

Istanbul offers free Wi-Fi internet access, which is an important solution in the event that you have to use the internet while you are outside your home and do not have the ability to connect to the Internet normally.

You may get the free internet in Istanbul Municipality at the main metrobus stations or when you are near the municipalities, and this internet is known as IPP Wi-Fi.

Recently, Internet companies are working to improve mobile Internet service by keeping pace with the generations. After the second and third generation, the fourth generation network has spread.

The most important home internet providers in Turkey are: Turkcell, Vodafone, Türk Telekom, D.Smart, Dubing.

The Ministry of Technology works on developing servers and constantly updating information transmission networks to keep pace with development, and to meet the needs of different sectors.

6. Water and sewage networks

Treated and healthy water reaches all districts of Istanbul around the clock, and the people of the city do not need tanks to collect water in them.

Turkey is divided into twenty-five water basins, and most of the rivers originate from Turkey, and there are more than (120) natural lakes, (293) dams, and (1000) reservoirs for small dams, and the average flow in the basins is (186) billion cubic meters.

The basin of the Tigris and Euphrates, which constitutes 28% of the water potential in Turkey, is the largest basin in terms of surface area and water potential.

The people of Istanbul have suffered from water pollution, which found a quick and important solution by establishing a liquefaction line. It is a huge project for the management of water and wastewater, and a very large network of pipes was built to transport water, and another for sewage.

The first wastewater treatment plant was also set up to avoid all collateral damage to the environment. Pollution of waters of the  Bosphorus Strait was one of the problems that the city was suffering from, as a project was contemplated to save the Bosphorus by establishing a mineral liquefaction line and a biological purification center for wastewater.

7. Educational institutions

Educational institutions are spread all over the city of Istanbul, hardly a small neighborhood is devoid of a school, institute or educational institution. Istanbul Municipality has taken care of free private institutes and has established Institutes of Free Educational Courses (İSMEK) with various scientific branches and professional specializations in all regions of Istanbul.

The free educational endowments were also suspended, in addition to the already available open education, which always seeks to increase its branches and expand its services. Luckily, the Turkish school education system, in addition to high quality, offers a variety of options that can cover a wide range of science students.

Education in all its forms in Turkey takes place under the supervision of the country's Ministry of Education. The state provides free pre-university education, and collects nominal premiums at its affiliated universities.

The school age in Turkey officially starts from five. Before that, the child can go to kindergarten, and education is considered compulsory until the end of secondary school.

Schools in Istanbul are divided into three sections: private, public and international under the auspices of different countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, and the same education system is followed in those countries. As for universities, after the higher education system in Turkey has developed significantly in terms of quality and quantity. Recently, seven Turkish universities entered the list of the top 100 universities, three of which are in the top ten list.

Universities in Turkey follow the Bologna Agreement, and the higher education system ranks 43rd in the world. The Turkish Ministry of Education is interested in attracting international students to improve its university ranking. Therefore, the Turkish government gives many international scholarships to students from all over the world.

8. Services and facilities essential to the economy

For economic development there must be facilities that qualify every city to be in the highest ranks economically, and they include the aforementioned, besides banking services of all kinds, providing housing in hotels or independent apartments, in addition to facilitating all commercial and investment transactions.

What are the future plans for infrastructure projects in Istanbul?

The Turkish government seeks to develop in all cities and states, but gives Istanbul a special attention to its position throughout history, and to attract tourists. Therefore, plans are always made to develop infrastructure, whether in roads and tunnels, or in health care homes and hospitals, or in communications and the educational sector.

In this context, the Turkish government intends to implement the largest infrastructure and economic development project, the Istanbul Canal Project, with a budget of $15 billion.

It is a waterway parallel to the Bosphorus Strait, 30 km from it, to the west of Istanbul, with a length of 45 km, a minimum base width of 275 meters, and a depth of about 21 meters. It includes the construction of 6 bridges connected to the main road transport networks that currently exist. The project is planned to be completed in 2027, i.e. within 6 years of laying the foundation stone.

According to the sources, the canal will give Turkey a great competitive advantage in international maritime transport, and the project will relieve pressure on the Bosphorus Canal in the east, which is one of the busiest waterways and witnesses the highest navigation density on the continental and global levels.

How does the infrastructure in Istanbul affect the investment value of the city?

The standard for the high value of investment for any city is the infrastructure associated with the development of sectors, and the high index of services. Whenever the infrastructure is available and developed, there is an incentive to invest, and a desire to think about establishing projects that benefit the city and the country as a whole, and increase the investment value in general.

Edited by Imtilak Real Estate ©

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