Start for Manisa Light Rail System Project

Manisa Light Rail System Project Has Started: Manisa Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Cengiz Ergün hosted the Chairman of the Organized Industrial Zone Sait Cemal Türek and the members of the board of directors. Speaking at the visit, where the light rail system is being worked on to bring in Manisa, President Ergün said, “The studies we have started with the General Directorate of State Railways will be clarified next week. “When the negotiations on investment and finance are completed, we aim to complete the legal procedures by the beginning of the year”.

Cemal Sait Türek, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Organized Industrial Zone, paid a courtesy visit to the Mayor of Metropolitan Municipality Cengiz Ergün together with the members of the board of directors and wished the new term of office to be beneficial. Expressing his satisfaction with the visit, Mayor Ergün stated that they would exchange views with Türek regarding the light rail system planned to be brought to Manisa. President Advisor Architect Azmi Açıkdil stated that he had talks with the General Directorate of State Railways regarding the light rail system during his visit to Ankara last week and said, “If we look at the Organized Industrial Zone point, one of the most important investments to be made is the light rail system. We think it is. We want to bring the light rail system to Manisa with the cooperation between institutions. As of last week, we started the work. Azmi Bey went to Ankara last week and met with the General Directorate of State Railways. We will share the results of the talks with our chairman and board of directors, Sait Türek ”.

Approximate 18 Kilometer Route

Giving information about the route of the light rail system, Mayor Ergün stated that they envision a system that will enter the city from the new bus station and then reach the OSB and Celal Bayar University Campus, and said that another alternative is a light rail system parallel to the ring road. President Ergün spoke about the route, “We had also made statements during the election process for the light rail system. Of course, there may be changes regarding the routes we mentioned. We are considering a 16-18 kilometer route starting from the new garage and passing through the city, extending from Mehmet Akif Boulevard to the OSB and going to the CBÜ Muradiye Campus. Of course, one of the most important points here is how the light rail system will pass through the area of ​​the existing train station. Azmi Bey also held preliminary discussions on this issue. I guess there will be a return with the headquarters next week. Because there are 7 intersections for the high-speed train passing through Manisa. This predicts a huge cost. Alternatively, what we presented 3-4 years ago was the construction of a high-speed train that would pass around the existing ring road. The ministry is currently working on this. They will make evaluations of investments where expropriations on the ring road can be made at much less cost. I guess whether such a change of decision will be made or not, it will become clear next week. In this sense, when the condition of the light rail system that will pass over the station becomes clear, we will immediately start the project preparations. I hope these processes will be completed as soon as possible. In the light of the clarified information, I think we will experience the implementation period of the project until the beginning of the year, with the completion of the permits at the ministry point and the finance legs. At the moment, it is not possible for us to give an exact figure in terms of finance or investment. Of course, the details of the work such as the electrical system, reinforcements, and storage areas are too many. Based on this, trams have details as much as the selection point. These will come up one after another. Our aim is to bring light rail system to our city ”.

Greater Erkine Needed

Sait Cemal Türek, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Organized Industrial Zone, stated that they will support the implementation of the light rail system as OSB and emphasized the importance of the light rail system for Manisa. Türek thinks “The biggest task here is the Metropolitan Municipality”. To do this, the power of the metropolitan municipality is needed. Because the sustainability of today's conditions does not seem possible for the future process. It is not the right approach to bring 50 thousand people to and from the city by buses or minibuses. But due to desperation, the system works like this now. I think that any financial institution that sees this passenger potential will give credit to finance this system in order for this to be concluded as soon as possible. Because the factories in OIZ are also not happy with the current system. In other words, carrying workers with buses also puts them in trouble. Worker's responsibility also rests on the factory. The entrance and exit hours of the factories cannot become elastic, they change mostly in groups. In this sense, we care about this issue. On the other hand, it is our desire for our city to develop homogeneously and to become a beautiful and modern city. Metro to Manisa is perhaps not important and urgent, but a light rail system must be. Moreover, such a system can connect the distances in the city. The ring-shaped light rail system from our university to our garage will solve the problems. In the meeting we held with our President last September, we had a meeting with him about the details of the work. Hopefully, we will solve this issue quickly and bring it to our city. As OSB, we want to support whatever we can and be on one side of this business ”.