CHP's Gülcan Kış said, "The failure to complete Çukurova Airport, which has lost 8 ministers and held 3 groundbreaking ceremonies, is simply a shame for a government that has been in power for 21 years."
In recent months, Mersin Deputy of the Republican People's Party, Gülcan Kış, brought up the question "When will Çukurova Airport be opened" in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Planning and Budget Commission, and Minister of Transport Uraloğlu answered "We will open it in January 2024".
Mersin Deputy Gülcan Kış, at the press conference she held in the Turkish Grand National Assembly, pointed out that the airport is still not completed and reacted to the AK Party government's distraction of Mersin public opinion for 13 years.
Gülcan Kış said, “The issues that the AKP government has been most proud of for 21 years are; bridges, highways, tunnels, mega projects and airports. While they boasted that "We are opening airports in every province", their biggest tradition has been to hold groundbreaking ceremonies for projects that were not completed, only during election periods. I want to give you a very good example of this. It's a complete snake story. Çukurova Airport Project, which had 3 groundbreaking ceremonies and changed 8 Ministers of Transport. "Çukurova Airport, which has been on Mersin's agenda since 2011 when it was put out to tender, broke the record for seeing the most elections and went down in history as the AKP's election investment," he said.
Gülcan Kış, who shared photos from the groundbreaking ceremony held on May 28, 2013, at the press conference, reminded that the then Minister of Transport Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Economy Zafer Çağlayan and Minister of Culture Ömer Çelik attended that groundbreaking ceremony, which coincided with the 2014 Local Elections.
Kış said, “Their goal was to get the airport ready for the Mediterranean Games in 2013. Of course they couldn't make it. Then, it was announced that it would be completed in March 2016. However, he could not go beyond the promise again. We come to March 2017. The groundbreaking ceremony was held for the second time. This is at the opening, before the 2018 General Elections. At the groundbreaking ceremony on 26 March 2017, the promise that it would be put into service on 29 October 2018 was made by the Ministers who attended there. The second groundbreaking ceremony was attended by then Minister of European Union Affairs Ömer Çelik, Minister of Development Lütfü Elvan and Minister of Transport Ahmet Arslan. Speaking at the groundbreaking ceremony, the then Minister of Transport, Ahmet Arslan, said, "We do not have the luxury or patience to wait until 2019" for Çukurova Airport. However, they still could not complete the airport on the promised date,” he said.
Kış stated that the Minister of Transport, Uraloğlu, who took office lastly, first pointed out the end of 2023 for Çukurova Airport, which has become an election investment for the AK Party and is still not put into service, and Minister Uraloğlu later said in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Planning and Budget Commission, "It will be opened in January 2024" noted.
'WHICH OF YOU IS TELLING THE TRUTH?'
Gülcan Kış said, “The Governor of Mersin recently said, 'Our project is over and we are waiting for a date from the President for the opening.' Construction continues at the airport. Mersin Governor says 'it's over, we are waiting for the date for the opening'. Tarsus District Governor publishes news on his website saying that we inspected the airport construction site just 2 days ago. In other words, the Governor says it is finished, and the District Governor says the construction work continues. From here I ask the esteemed Minister, the Governor of Mersin, the District Governor of Tarsus: Which of you is telling the truth? Which one of you is making a false statement? It has been exactly 8 years since Çukurova Airport, which took 3 ministers and 13 groundbreaking ceremonies, could not be completed. It's easy to say. "For a government that has been in power for 21 years, this is simply a disgrace," he said.
Gülcan Kış, who mentioned that new promises regarding Çukurova Airport were brought to the agenda before the local elections on March 31, 2024, continued her words as follows:
“We have a local election ahead of us. But now the people of Mersin have had enough of these fairy tales. You will come out and boast about your bridges, highways and airports at every opportunity, but you will not be able to finish this project that you promised to the people of Mersin in all these years. I'm sorry, but you must be held accountable for these 13 years that were stolen from the people of Mersin and caused losses in tourism, trade and industry. From now on, none of you come out and say; Don't make a single promise about Çukurova Airport! The people of Mersin will continue on their way by saying yes again, not to the political understanding in which they are punished in this local election and tried to be deprived of all kinds of services and investments, but to the Metropolitan Mayor, the architect of the projects that will be applauded for Mersin, where no discrimination is made, with the understanding of social municipalism, where every citizen is embraced, and who keeps his promises. .”