In his written statement, Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu evaluated the data on the use of the tunnel in question.
Minister Uraloğlu pointed out that the tunnel is the first and only double-deck highway tunnel connecting the Asian and European continents under the seabed.
Uraloğlu emphasized that the tunnel has a length of 5 kilometers and has been in use for more than 9 years with a total distance of 14.6 kilometers, including access roads, on the Kazlıçeşme-Göztepe line, where vehicular traffic is the heaviest in Istanbul, and said:
“The tunnel shortens the Göztepe-Bakırköy route by about 10 kilometers and reduces the average travel time of this route, which reaches 100 minutes, to 15 minutes. “Considering that there are 986 vehicles, almost one in four of these vehicles used the Eurasia Tunnel.”
250 million hours of time saved
Uraloğlu stated that users saved a total of 250 million hours of time and 304,000 tons of fuel during the nine years of operation.
Emphasizing that the tunnel achieved an emissions reduction of 139,000 tons, which is equivalent to the annual carbon sequestration capacity of about 5.5 million trees, Uraloğlu emphasized that the Eurasia Tunnel is the first project in the world to successfully complete the certification process within the framework of the Blue Dot Network, whose technical framework was created by the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD), which is open and inclusive, transparent, supports the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement and which is given financially, socially and environmentally sustainable infrastructure investments.
Uraloğlu pointed out that with the points accumulated in basic rubrics such as energy saving, recycling and sustainability, the project is also eligible to receive the LEED Gold certificate, explaining that the possible environmental and social impacts of the project were carefully analyzed during both the construction and operation phases.
Pointing out that 11,000 642 new trees were planted in the European Side Coastal Park, a 2.7-kilometer cycle and pedestrian path was built, and playgrounds and exercise areas were renovated, Uraloğlu said, “With the commissioning of the Solar Power Plant (SPP) in the Eurasia Tunnel Operation and Maintenance Building and the Asian Ventilation Buildings, the operation will both supply its energy from clean sources as well as reduce CO2 emissions by 210 tonnes annually.” he said.
Uraloğlu stated that the project has contributed about $2.6 billion to the country's economy so far and that the total public savings are expected to reach $8.6 billion in the long term.
Bir yanıt yazın