Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu answers questions about the agenda in A Haber. Many topics, from projects that will strengthen Istanbul’s transportation infrastructure to high-speed railway investments, are discussed live.

Making a statement on one of the most critical transportation axes of Istanbul, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, “Chalkalı Station, where we are currently located, is one of the extreme points of Arnavutköy, Istanbul Airport and Kağıthane-Gayrettepe metro line and one of the most important regions where it is integrated with Marmaray.”

Drawing attention to the architectural aesthetics of the station, Uraloğlu said, “This is not just a metro station, it is a very beautiful station where some works of art are exhibited and where our friends worked hard.”

Showing the huge scale of the project on the map, Minister Uraloğlu revealed the magnitude of the project with the words: “We are creating a ring line that will completely embrace almost the entire settlement on the European Side of Istanbul. We are talking about one of the most important parts of a huge line of 69 kilometers.”

22 KILOMETER LINE IS BEING OPENED

Giving the opening date that Istanbulites are eagerly awaiting, Uraloğlu said, “Hopefully, tomorrow, we will open the approximately 22-kilometer section, which we see in red on this map, with the honor of our President.” Referring to the breadth of the line, the Minister said, “This line, which is 69 kilometers in total, will serve all our citizens on the European side, integrated with Marmaray. In fact, this system is part of a complete transportation network extending from Marmaray to Gebze and Sabiha Gökçen Airport.”

SCALE FOR ISTANBUL TRAFFIC: 57 MINUTES MAXIMUM

Explaining the revolution in transportation times with numbers, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said, “It will be possible to travel between Halkalı and Gayrettepe in a maximum of 57 minutes with the comfort of the rail system, without getting stuck in traffic. This time is a great blessing in a metropolis like Istanbul.” Referring to the importance of integration with other lines, Uraloğlu said, “This project is a system that will make the lives of Istanbulites easier and save them time.”

Detailing the speed that will be experienced in airport transportation, Uraloğlu said, “When you get on from Halkalı, you are at Istanbul Airport in 30 minutes. If you continue, you can complete the entire ring by reaching Gayrettepe in 57 minutes. Likewise, it takes only 27 minutes between Gayrettepe and Istanbul Airport,” and conveyed how much faster the transportation will be.

TECHNOLOGY OF THE FUTURE: FULLY AUTOMATED SYSTEM

Emphasizing the technological infrastructure of the line, Uraloğlu said, “This system will work completely based on automation. Our citizens will calculate their time to the millimeter according to the flight time and will be at the airport on time when they get on the metro. This comfort is priceless, especially in a city with uncertainties such as Istanbul traffic.”

Putting an end to the discussions on the necessity of Istanbul Airport, the Minister said, “Today, we have a daily traffic of more than 200 thousand passengers at Istanbul Airport. If we had not built this airport, it would be impossible for us to manage this traffic with Ataturk Airport. In this sense, the metro line will be the lifeblood of this huge capacity.”

GOOD NEWS TO THE ANATOLIAN SIDE: ÇAMLICA METRO IS COMING

Uraloğlu, who heralded the work on the Anatolian Side as well as the giant project on the European Side, said, “Our work on the Altunizade-Çamlıca metro line continues rapidly. We aim to complete this line of approximately 4.5 kilometers next year. Afterwards, we will extend the line by 6 kilometers and connect it to Kazım Karabekir and Ümraniye sides. Thus, we will bring the densely populated regions of the Anatolian Side together with the modern rail system.”

During the examination of MASAK records requested within the scope of the corruption operation against Seferihisar Municipality, suspicious money transfers of Nermin Günay, wife of detained Güzelbahçe Mayor Mustafa Günay, were found. Accordingly, it seemed that 500 thousand liras had been deposited into Nermin Günay’s account.

The investigation was expanded and continued upon allegations that 1/4 of the bribes received from zoning corruption were transferred to Veli Ağbaba through consultant Özlem Akyılmaz. It was determined that Nermin Günay sent a money order of 500 thousand TL to Özlem Akyılmaz Mercan, the advisor of CHP Malatya Deputy Veli Ağbaba, on February 27, 2024.

HE WAS TAKEN INTO CUSTODY

Thereupon, Nermin Günay, the wife of detained Mayor Mustafa Günay, was detained today as part of the Seferihisar Municipality operation. Nermin Günay was detained as a company official during the investigation in which her husband Mustafa Günay was arrested, but was later released by the court.
He was released pending trial.

Cemil Tugay said:

For the information of my dear fellow citizens of Izmir and the public, the “Absolute Nullity” decision that our Republican People’s Party was subjected to and what happened in the following period are known to everyone. I see and understand that this process has caused great damage to our party, which was founded by Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and established our Republic. Especially the consecutive expulsion decisions taken in recent days are very worrying. Yesterday’s dismissal of our Izmir Provincial President, along with a group of provincial presidents, is a great injustice to the political will of Izmir and an unacceptable mistake. The rude disregard of the political will coming from our party’s members and voters is a harbinger of similar decisions to be taken in the coming days. It is not possible for these successive decisions to be seen as normal and accepted. Under these circumstances, I think it is inevitable for us to face the naked facts. Of course, we all have responsibilities to ensure that our party reaches a normal democratic management environment as soon as possible. I have tried to contribute to this process as much as I could with my attitude, my statements and by signing the extraordinary congress. However, I understand and see that our good faith efforts will not yield results within the time we expect, and many of our party members will continue to be targeted unfairly and unlawfully. I wholeheartedly believe that our country needs a Republican People’s Party that is far from all kinds of fiction, tutelage and manipulation, and works for the rights and welfare of our people. I will continue to be a part of this struggle throughout my life. However, “Absolute Butlan CHP” is not the umbrella of this struggle. With these convictions and thoughts, I resign from my membership in the Republican People’s Party, with great sadness and with the hope of returning one day. In the next period, I will continue to serve as the Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality independently and continue to serve our city and our people with all my strength. I respectfully present it to your information.

Derya Pınar, the mother of Mahra Melin Pınar (9), who died on March 28, 2022, after the accident she had while escaping from the attack of stray dogs in Antalya Serik on March 5, 2022, and Güneş Tutar, the mother of Murat Tutar (10), who was seriously injured in the attack of stray dogs on the street where he went out to buy bread in Erzurum’s Narman district, said the Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi’s statement: “There are zero strays on the street.” He evaluated SABAH’s statement that 89 percent of stray dogs were collected in line with the “dog” target. Anne Pınar stated that they met with Minister Mustafa Çiftçi as the Safe Streets and Right to Life Defense Association (GÜSODER), which they founded after losing Mahra; He explained that not only the loss they experienced during the process, but also the targeting of some animal-loving groups, insults, threats and smear campaigns wore them out.

“WE SAW THE DETERMINATION”
Stating that they conveyed these problems to Minister Çiftçi during the meeting, Pınar said, “The interest and support of our Minister made me very happy. We saw that he was determined to achieve the goal of zero stray dogs on the streets. We left the meeting extremely satisfied.” Murat Tutar’s mother, Güneş Tutar, said, “Many dogs mauled many parts of my son. He was very seriously injured. Since that day, his psychology has deteriorated. When he sees a dog, he gets scared and runs home. He cannot move easily even inside the house on his own.” Reminding that Minister Çiftçi was the Governor of Erzurum at the time Murat was attacked, Tutar said, “After the incident, Mr. Çiftçi came to the hospital immediately. He took great care of us. He gave the necessary instructions to collect the dogs. He was very helpful. May God bless him.” Stating that the trauma he experienced also affected his child’s self-confidence, Tutar said, “He used to love taking photos. Now when I take his photo, he deletes it because he doesn’t like himself. He gets very upset because of the marks on his face. He feels bad.”

“THIS SHOULD HAVE BEEN TAKEN INTO”
Stating that he supports the decision taken by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to collect all stray dogs, Tutar said, “This issue had to be addressed. We had seen other news of attacks before. One thinks that it will not happen to oneself. But it also happened to our child. It may happen to other people tomorrow.”

ALL DOGS WERE COLLECTED IN 51 PROVINCES
Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi noted that in the meeting he held with AK Party deputies yesterday, all stray animals were collected in 51 provinces with 12 metropolitan cities and Special Provincial Administrations. Stating that collection efforts continue in other provinces, Çiftçi said; “Normally, we wanted to collect them all around September-October, but in some municipalities, this work may be a little behind. Since the law gives time until 2028, some municipalities can take this job slowly. In metropolitan cities, the work is a little slow, but hopefully we will have all of them in shelters or natural habitats by the end of the year,” he said. Minister Çiftçi recently said; He announced that 89 percent of stray dogs on the streets were collected, that all of them would be collected and taken to shelters by the end of the year, and that shelter capacities were increased.

Minister of Internal Affairs Mustafa Çiftçi shared traffic data for the first 5 months of 2025 and 2026. Minister Çiftçi announced that despite the increased inspections in traffic, there have been significant decreases in violations, accidents and deaths. According to the announced data, inspections across the country increased by 7.5 percent, reaching 74 million. Despite the increase in inspections, the number of vehicles processed decreased by 16.4 percent, as the number of drivers complying with the rules increased. Thanks to traffic regulations and deterrent penalties, excessive speed violations decreased by 25 percent and drunk driving decreased by 10.3 percent. The most striking decrease was seen in the violation of scissors, with 93 percent. Stating that motorcycle accidents constitute 50 percent of all accidents, Minister Çiftçi stated that fatal accidents in this area decreased by 20.1 percent. In the overall picture, the number of accidents with death and injury decreased to 102 thousand 152. While the daily average loss of life in accidents decreased from 5.8 to 5.2, the number of deaths at the scene of the accident decreased from 575 to 504. Minister Çiftçi emphasized that this positive situation is due to drivers complying with the rules more.

The “Istanbul Doesn’t Wait” campaign, implemented by the AK Party Istanbul Provincial Directorate, reached large audiences in a short time. With the posters prepared for the campaign, ongoing investments and services in Istanbul, from urban transformation to transportation, from education to health, from youth investments to environmental projects, were shared with the public. AK Party Istanbul Provincial Chairman Abdullah Özdemir stated that the main message of the campaign is the understanding of “We did it yesterday, we are doing it today” and pointed out that investments continue in Istanbul. He stated that 994 thousand houses have been transformed since 2019, the transformation of 270 thousand houses continues and 1 million 260 thousand more houses are included in the scope of transformation. Stating that 163 schools and 3 thousand 798 classrooms have been completed within the scope of education investments, and the construction of 159 schools and 3 thousand 913 classrooms is continuing, Özdemir said that 13 hospitals with a capacity of 8 thousand 238 beds have been put into service in the field of health. Stating that 13 facilities were completed within the scope of sports investments, Özdemir stated that 35 national gardens with an area of ​​7 million 788 thousand square meters were opened within the framework of environmental investments.

CONTINUE WITH THE SAME VISION
“Istanbul is the apple of our civilization’s eye. This city cannot tolerate neglect,” said Özdemir, adding, “You can keep polemics waiting, advertisements waiting, but you cannot keep the earthquake, transportation and the future of our young people waiting. As the AK Party, we continue to work for Istanbul with all the institutions of our state, just like yesterday. The municipal vision that our President started in Istanbul continues on its way with the same determination today.”