AKP's Istanbul candidate Murat Kurum announces his promises: Criticizes İmamoğlu: Transportation, urban transformation, 'System Istanbul'

AKP's Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate Murat Kurum is speaking at the "Istanbul Vision Promotion Meeting" at the Haliç Congress Center.

In the launch where 10 sub-headings will be announced, urban transformation and transportation are expected to be the priority topics in the 5-year program.

Highlights from Kurum's statements are as follows:

"Governing this city requires surrendering to the spirit of Istanbul with your mind, your heart, and your entire being. It requires being dedicated to every street, every home. We are cadres dedicated to Istanbul.

SYSTEM ISTANBUL

Istanbul has become a tangle of problems; there is great confusion and chaos in the city. Istanbul is not helpless. We are offering a service with a holistic perspective that puts the human at the center for all problems. The name of this is 'System Istanbul.' Istanbul has lost its harmony in the last 5 years. We will announce 'System Istanbul', which will bring this city back into balance. We will offer Istanbulites a trouble-free, worry-free social life. We will work for a unique, unparalleled Istanbul again.

TRAFFIC PROBLEM

Every citizen in Istanbul loses 288 hours a year in traffic. The traffic ordeal takes 3.5 years off our lives.

We all lose time and energy in traffic, we get worn out. We want to spend the time we lose in traffic with our families and on ourselves. Traffic density in Istanbul, which was 47 percent in 2019, has risen to 64 percent today. During peak hours, this rate exceeds 90 percent.

They could barely build 8 km of the 40.7 km metro line they claimed to have opened. They canceled ongoing metro projects. As if canceling them wasn't enough, they dumped truckloads of excavation waste onto our metro construction sites.

We will increase our rail lines to 650 km. After 10 years, this length will reach 1,004 km. We will complete the Yenikapı-İncirli-Sefaköy line. We will complete the Sultanbeyli metro. We will also complete the 6 km metro line between Sabiha Gökçen and Kurtköy. We will build the 18 km Sefaköy-Avcılar-Beylikdüzü metro line.

BUS TERMINALS WILL BE MOVED

We will move the Esenler and Harem Bus Terminals; we will establish 6 new logistics centers on both sides. We are building two tunnel projects for the two sides of Istanbul. We will save our streets from being parking lots. We will say that safe and cheap parking is Istanbul's right. We will provide 250 thousand parking spaces to Istanbul.

TAXI PROBLEM

We will solve the taxi problem; we have met with our taxi drivers and tradesmen. We will implement a feedback application. We will remove the taxi problem from Istanbul's agenda. We will combine all systems under the 'Central Taxi System' umbrella and increase the number of taxis.

EARTHQUAKE STATEMENT

"Earthquakes are as important as the fight against terrorism. It is a national security issue. We promise an Istanbul resilient to disasters. There are 7.5 million homes and workplaces, 1.5 million of which are at risk. 600 thousand residences need to be transformed urgently. In 5 years, we will build 650 thousand residences with a horizontal architecture focus.

HOUSING PROJECT

"KİPTAŞ is our distinguished institution. We are starting 300 thousand residences with KİPTAŞ. We will take applications on April 15th, and by saying 'half is on us', we will provide 700 thousand liras in grant support, an additional 700 thousand in loan support, and 100 thousand liras in moving support. We will complete these residences in 18 months. We will also complete 250 thousand of our homes by supporting our citizens and the private sector. We will implement the necessary zoning regulations.

DISASTER MANAGEMENT CENTER AT ATATÜRK AIRPORT

"With a new disaster management center at Atatürk Airport, we will make what is most needed at the time of a disaster available. In the event of a possible disaster, we will provide food and medical support. We are establishing our disaster response centers at exactly 9 points. In addition to 2 emergency hospitals, we will build 1 more emergency hospital, one in Arnavutköy and the other in Pendik.

50 THOUSAND LIRA MARRIAGE SUPPORT

Murat Kurum also listed his other promises for women, the elderly, and the youth:

It is not, of course, like them, making promises and not keeping them. We are providing 24/7 daycare services for all our night workers, and we will bring daycare services to every neighborhood for our children. You know they talk about justice; we will not be unjust like them. We will not fire anyone unfairly, and we will take back our workers who were fired unfairly. We will provide 2500 liras of support payment every month to our retirees in need. We will provide 50 thousand TL in white goods assistance to young people who will get married. We will ensure justice in water usage in Istanbul. We will implement a water tariff based on households. We will give 100 thousand liras in grants to each of the 100 thousand female entrepreneurs who start their first business. We will provide nutritional support in our schools for our primary school-aged children.

We also promise free transportation to fathers. We will build neighborhood gardens in our 39 districts. We will also build special reading rooms (kıraathane) for women.

CULTURE-ARTS

We will bring 2 new theaters to our city. We will establish the Istanbul Culture Academy. Istanbul will be a city of festivals.