The 2021nd meeting of Mersin Metropolitan Municipality Council's regular meeting in August 2 was held at the Congress and Exhibition Center under the chairmanship of Metropolitan Mayor Vahap Seçer. The proposal to authorize President Seçer to finance the Construction and Electromagnetic Systems of the Light Rail System Metro Line, which will be built in Mersin, was accepted by a majority of votes.
Stating that they made the tender for the light rail system, President Seçer said:
This is what we found in our lap when we came to the administration. It had to be included in the investment program of the Presidency Strategy and Budget Department. We have made the necessary attempts. This was approved by the President of the Republic on September 5, 5, approximately 2019 months later, when we came to the administration.
There's even some news. 'We approve the Mersin light rail system, tell the President to seek financing. In other words, let him seek financing while preparing for the tender'. Take note of these, and you can confirm the accuracy of what I said there. We have started the preparations for this project to go out to tender. We just did a study there that took us 3 months. We listened to the starting and ending points and his story.
Let's both reduce the cost of some parts of the project and retouch the parts that we do not see appropriate in the short-medium term. We thought that we would go out to tender with the remaining part and we started it in front of the old building of Mezitli Municipality. We brought it to the old bus station, we finished it there. There was no old bus station in the previous project. Where did this come from? We said that this is actually a project on the east-west axis, the country, namely Mersin, is growing towards the north. It grows both from the east side and from the west side. Let's work on a rail system there.
“WE WANT TO START THIS CONSTRUCTION FRIEND, WE WANT TO HIT THE DIGGING”
Stating that they have increased the total of tram, level and underground rail systems to 34.4 kilometers in Mersin, and that they are currently making the first stage tender, Seçer said that the tender results of the 2nd and 3rd stages will be opened in envelopes. President Seçer explained the tender process in detail to the members of the Assembly and noted that 28 bids were received for the tender on April 2021, 3, and that evaluations are currently being made in the commission. Seçer continued:
The waiting period in this commission, that is, the evaluation period, is 150 days legally. May, June, July, August, September, You said why did you bring it ex officio? So why did you wait until now? Our tender was as follows; Find the finance, come, or if the costs of the finance you bring are not pleasing to the administration, the administration has the right and freedom to find financing as it wishes. We waited for this company for months. Based on the offer made in the commission at the moment, the company that made the fewest bids went in search of financing.
We saw the cost of the financing he found very high. We said; 'we can create our own finances.' How do we do? We issue bonds. Now the world is cramped, Turkey is cramped. Right now, when we look at the world markets and the international finance sector, libor is in negative situations. But this process that Turkey is going through, the situation in the region, makes the view here negative in terms of financing and our costs are increasing.
We said; 'We want to start this construction temporarily, friend, we want to hit the pickaxe. Let's issue bonds, let's get started as soon as possible.' Approximately, of course, we looked at our balance sheet, which is based on laws. We can issue a bond like 900 million, which will cost us more, but then we can find additional loans. Let's get the approval of the 900 million part of the parliament, let's get the borrowing authority.
Let the Treasury issue bonds, let's issue the bonds of our municipality and let us finalize the tender. Until the 28th of September and from now on, every day, every hour is valuable to us. We brought it ex officio for him. In this case, as I said, we cannot announce the result of the tender because we could not reach any concrete point in terms of financing.
"WE WILL START THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE SUBWAY"
Expressing that the subject of the metro is also widely discussed in the public, President Seçer then said:
We tried to explain and explain every detail of the subway in every environment and on every platform. We have repeatedly told about its technical dimensions, where Mersin stands in projections for the future, what it will add to the city, what it will add to the city's public transportation, its development, the integration of districts with each other, and the social life of the city.
I don't want to bore you with these again. Such important projects are not only possible with the approval and responsibility of local governments. Look, I'm talking about a project that was approved by the Ministry of Transport's General Directorate of Infrastructure, approved by the Presidency and included in the investment program, and we are about to complete its tender.
We are currently seeking funding. So we swam, swam, swam, we came to the shore. From now on, either this work will be interrupted or we will say 'Vira Bismillah' and hit the pickaxe. The people of Mersin are waiting for this good news from us. We will start the construction of the subway.
AUTHORIZED TO THE PRESIDENT
Afterwards, a vote of financing support for the project was held in the parliament. The proposal to grant the President Seçer the financing authorization of 900 million TL for the Supply, Installation or Bond Issuance Project of the Construction and Electromagnetic Systems of the Light Rail System Metro Line to be built in Mersin was accepted by a majority of votes. Speaking again, President Seçer said, “Our proposal has been accepted by our Supreme Assembly. Another important step has been taken in the Light Rail System Project for Mersin. I wish good luck to our country," he said.
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