SUMP Izmir project, co-financed with the EU under the Sectoral Operational Programme for Transport (USOP) managed by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, was held on 28 February 2025 its 10th and the final Project Steering Committee Meeting. The meeting was attended by the Adviser to the Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Prof. Dr. Yalçın Alver, SUMP Izmir technical coordination team of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, Tijen İğci (PhD), Head of Department for EU Investments of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, Göktuğ Kara (PhD), Programme Manager of the Delegation of the EU to Türkiye, and representatives from Department for EU Investments, representatives of the Consortium and the Technical Assistance Team. During the meeting, the current status of the activities was presented, and strategies towards the finalization of the project were discussed.
The meeting started with a comprehensive presentation by SUMP Izmir Project Team Leader Prof. Dr. Ela Babalık on all the components and outputs of the project activities and continued with feedback and opinions from the Contracting Authority, the Final Beneficiary and the Delegation of the EU to Türkiye.
During the meeting, Prof. Dr. Yalçın Alver, Advisor to the Mayor of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, stated the importance of the SUMP Izmir project for the future of Izmir. Tijen İğci (PhD), Head of Department for EU Investments of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that the first launched SUMP project under the Sectoral Operational Programme for Transport (USOP) was the SUMP Izmir project. Dr. İğci emphasised that the project is very important as it brings a new perspective to Türkiye’s transport vision and underlined the importance of the implementation process and therefore the sustainability of the project, which should be taken into account in the finalization phase, and emphasized the need to search for new national and international funds for the implementation of the measures proposed under SUMP Izmir.
Göktuğ Kara (PhD), Programme Manager of the Delegation of the EU to Türkiye, underlined the importance of the establishment of synergy in the search for resources for the projects and also the opportunities for local fundraising, noting that the SUMP Izmir measures have been developed in line with other projects and activities already implemented in Izmir and planned to be implemented in the future. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, SUMP Izmir Project Technical Coordination Team emphasized their expectations and the importance of the visibility and communication component of the project activities during the finalization of the project.
Finally, the positive developments in the project's
progress, which is set to be completed by 25 April 2025, were assessed, and the
parties expressed their support for the SUMP Izmir Project Consortium to
continue the project completion process through cooperation and shared goals.