The kick-off meeting of the “Public Transport
in Denizli is Getting Smarter” project, implemented under the Sectoral
Operational Programme for Transport (USOP) as part of the Türkiye-EU financial
cooperation managed by the Ministry of Transport and
Infrastructure and of which Denizli Metropolitan Municipality is the End Beneficiary,
was held on 10 January 2025, in Denizli.
The meeting was attended
on behalf of the Contracting Authority Tijen İğci (PhD), Head of Department for
European Union Investments of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Adem
Koç, Contract Manager, Alper Kaya, Publicity Officer and Alperen Gülal,
Financial Management Expert.
The meeting commenced with an opening speech
by the Mayor of Denizli Metropolitan Municipality, Bülent Nuri Çavuşoğlu,
followed by remarks from the Secretary-General Bülent Bozbaş.
Tijen İğci (PhD), who chaired the meeting, primarily
emphasized the strategic importance of the project. İğci detailed the project's
objectives, summarizing them as making Denizli's transportation systems more
sustainable and innovative, improving resource and cost efficiency, and
increasing public awareness. She explained that the core components of the
project include developing a smart transport strategy and action plan,
establishing and enhancing the capacity of a Traffic Management Center, and
implementing visibility and publicity activities.
The EU Delegation to Turkey Program Manager,
Akif Türkel, emphasized the importance of the project in helping Denizli
Metropolitan Municipality define its goals in the field of sustainable urban
transport.
During the program, Project Team Leader
Veysel Sarıcı gave a presentation that provided comprehensive information about
the 12-month implementation schedule and the planned activities. Tijen İğci (PhD)
ended her speech by reiterating her thanks and highlighting the meeting's positive
contribution to the project's progress.
The project, carried out in line with the
Denizli Smart Transport Systems Strategy and Action Plan (ITS-SAP), aims to
make urban transportation more efficient, accessible, and safe. The project
seeks to establish a sustainable system in terms of resources, time, and costs
through smart and innovative solutions. Key milestones of the project include
preparing an ITS strategy and action plan specifically designed for Denizli,
developing and approving the smart transport architecture proposed under this
plan, and establishing a Traffic Management Center to manage transportation in
the city more effectively. In addition to these efforts, raising public
awareness about sustainable and accessible transportation is among the
project's primary goals.