The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing €75 million in funds to Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality to support the construction of the Goztepe-Atasehir-Umraniye metro line.

The funds are an extension to a loan of €97.5 million provided to the city back in 2019.

The construction project is a “trigger” initiative under the Bank’s EBRD Green Cities programme, which supports city investments in green and sustainable solutions that advance their decarbonisation. Istanbul joined the EBRD Green Cities programme in 2021. The Turkish cities of Izmir, Gaziantep and Ankara are also active members of this flagship municipal programme.

At the signing ceremony, Nandita Parshad, Managing Director of the Sustainable Infrastructure Group at the EBRD, said: “I am delighted to sign the first EBRD Green Cities project in Istanbul, supporting sustainable urban mobility, reducing journey times, traffic congestion and air pollution and improving the quality of life of its citizens. This project also promotes gender and inclusion through a learning programme for 400 young people at the Istanbul Metro Company and the development of an Equal Opportunities Action Plan. Istanbul is one of the largest cities in the EBRD Green Cities program of now over 50 cities and we look forward to working on many more projects to support the City’s ambition to make it an even greener and more liveable city.”

As part of the project, Istanbul will also commit to developing a Green City Action Plan to prioritise local environmental challenges and put forward a plan of targeted investment and policy actions to facilitate its net zero pathway.

Mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu said: “Rail networks play a great part in the vision we have for Istanbul. We are investing heavily in metro lines that are environmentally friendly, comfortable and fast. That is why Istanbul is in the position of being the city building the most metros simultaneously.”

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is the largest municipal entity in Türkiye, with a population of 15.6 million.

The EBRD is one of the leading institutional investors in Türkiye. It has invested more than €17.2 billion in 385 projects in the country since 2009, most of them in the private sector.