Mayor Kadir Topbaş introduced the first domestically manufactured TBM machine used in the Zeytinburnu Drinking-Water Tunnel, Türkiye’s first drinking-water tunnel, to members of the press. Topbaş said Türkiye had become one of the five countries that manufacture TBMs.

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Kadir Topbaş introduced the first domestically manufactured TBM machine used in the Zeytinburnu Drinking-Water Tunnel, built as part of the Zeytinburnu–Bahçelievler Water Transmission Line project, to members of the press.

Mayor Kadir Topbaş toured the tunnel with journalists and gave information about the construction. He said tunnel excavation had once been carried out by hand and accidents had occurred; later, TBM machines—the latest technology—replaced the earlier construction equipment. “Today we are commissioning a truly exciting system that is very important for Türkiye,” he said. Topbaş explained that Türkiye’s TBM, which works underground like a factory and is 95% domestically manufactured, had begun production in Kocaeli.

Saying that the first domestic TBM had begun operating in Istanbul, Mayor Kadir Topbaş said: “This is very exciting and meaningful. If we can produce technologies ourselves, that is a sign of our development. I thank Arcan Makine, the company that manufactured the TBM. Türkiye has now become one of the five countries that produce TBMs.”

Topbaş said that when he first became mayor in 2004, he had gone down 60 metres underground in Barcelona and seen a TBM, which had greatly excited him. He continued: “It is very important that we are now making this technology in our own country. I congratulate everyone involved again and again. Foreign currency will no longer flow abroad; we have caught up with the technology. God willing, our projects will be completed at lower cost and in less time. These TBMs will later be sold abroad. Istanbul is a very important reference point in the world. A company that works in Istanbul can readily win work around the world, and a company that supplies equipment to Istanbul can readily sell it around the world. Istanbul is being followed closely, and, because of our presidency of UCLG, they know how careful we are to deliver the best work.”

Topbaş said the Zeytinburnu Drinking-Water Tunnel was 3,200 metres long and 2 metres 60 centimetres in diameter, and that it passed beneath the Zeytinburnu tram line. The project, the first drinking-water tunnel in Istanbul, would be excavated with a domestic TBM and was scheduled for completion at the end of 2018, with an investment cost of TRY 36 million.

Mayor Topbaş also announced that the project to take the Zeytinburnu tram underground was nearly complete and would begin soon, bringing good news that the district’s transport difficulties would be resolved. He said: “No one above ground will see or be inconvenienced by this work, but hundreds of people are working day and night 60 metres underground to secure Istanbul’s water supply. If you can follow technological advances and keep pace with them, you are not merely doing your own job; you are making an important contribution to the development of the country. That is why we take care to use the latest technology in our investments.”

Topbaş said he had instructed that tunnels be built towards the sea so rainwater would not remain on the roads, and that the domestic TBM would make this work easier and less expensive. He also said that many streams in Istanbul had been rehabilitated and cleaned, and that a different project would turn the Cendere, Ayamama and Çırpıcı streams into recreation areas that people could enjoy.

Noting that Istanbul was larger than 124 countries in the world and that every undertaking there was on the scale of a country, Mayor Topbaş said they had invested TRY 98 billion in 13 years and had reached an investment level of TRY 16.5 billion in Istanbul in 2017, with no overdue debt to the state or any financing institution.

Topbaş said Istanbul residents, people across Türkiye and observers abroad were following the city’s developments with admiration and taking them as an example. He noted that, alongside transport and infrastructure, water and wastewater works were among the most important projects. He said water needs were being met for more than 15 million people, dam occupancy stood at 80%, and wastewater was being treated without polluting nature.

Recalling that water was being brought to Istanbul from Melen, 180 kilometres away, and that construction of the Melen Dam was continuing, Topbaş said Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality would also generate hydroelectricity from the dam. “In every field, we try to do things properly and serve as a model to the world,” he said.

After his speech, Mayor Kadir Topbaş spoke over the radio to the TBM operator, instructed him to start the work and gave the members of the press information about the machine.