The tunnel boring machine (TBM), which was installed at General Asım Gündüz Station in Buca Metro, the largest rail system investment in Izmir history, started excavation. Mayor Tunç Soyer said that when he was appointed to his current position, he said, "That metro will come to Buca" and they succeeded, and said, "In December 2025, we will see the light at the end of that tunnel. We will realize the biggest investment in Izmir's history, this great rail system revolution, without leaving a penny out of anyone's pocket. This pride is ours. "This pride belongs to Izmir," he said.
 
Works on the Buca Metro, which will be built by Izmir Metropolitan Municipality with its own resources and will serve the 13.5-kilometer line between Üçyol-Dokuz Eylül University Tınaztepe Campus-Çamlıkule, continues at full speed. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer started the tunnel boring machine (TBM), which was installed at General Asım Gündüz Station and will greatly accelerate the excavation work. CHP Izmir Delegate Rıfat Nalbantoğlu, Gaziemir Mayor Halil Arda, Ödemiş Mayor Mehmet Eriş, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Secretary General Barış Karcı, bureaucrats, council members, headmen, presidents and representatives of non-governmental organizations, Izmir residents and members of the press attended the ceremony. During Mayor Soyer's speech, slogans such as "Izmir is proud of you" were frequently chanted.
 
Soyer: “We put our hearts on the line for Izmir”
Reminding that he said "That metro will come to Buca" when he appointed to his current position five years ago, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Tunç Soyer said, "I remember that day like it was yesterday. Nobody believed we could achieve this. There were people who said, 'Where will he find this much money?'... They wanted to prevent this huge investment from coming to Izmir with various moves... There were people who said, 'All the mayors promised this at the time, but it is not going to happen'... So, what did we do? We put our hearts out for Izmir. Despite the disasters, pandemic and economic crisis we experienced, we never gave up. No matter how difficult the conditions were, we produced actions, not excuses. And today, we can say pridefully: 'We promised, we did!'. "We will bring that metro to Buca," he said.
 
“We will make it happen without leaving a penny out of anyone's pocket”
Reminding that Buca Metro is one of the metro investments with the highest feasibility, Mayor Tunç Soyer said, “This investment that we brought to Izmir without a single penny of support from the central government is a rail system revolution. Like all revolutions, this revolution is the result of great determination and intense work. There is only one source of this revolution, which we have achieved by working with the principle of service 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, without intervening or bowing to anyone. The love of service we feel for this city. Thanks to our high credit score, we provided investment financing of 490 million Euros for Buca Metro with a 4-year grace period and a 12-year maturity. This figure may seem like a huge number when first heard. But the feasibility study we conducted shows this. Buca Metro, which will be used by 400 thousand citizens a day, will generate an annual turnover of 45 million Euros. Do you know what this means? Once our metro line is operational, it will be able to pay its loan on its own. For this reason, Buca Metro is one of the most feasible metro investments in the world. While the average time for a metro to meet its own financing worldwide is 30 years, we will achieve this in half the time. We will realize the biggest investment in Izmir's history, this great rail system revolution, without leaving a penny out of anyone's pocket. This pride is ours. "This pride belongs to Izmir," he said.
 
“In December 2025, we will see the light at the end of that tunnel.”
Providing information about the project, Soyer said that they put a meter at the entrance of Forbes Street, counting down from 890 days, and said, “Our metro will take a deep breath in the region with the heaviest traffic in Izmir, in Buca, our most crowded district. Transportation time between Çamlıkule, the farthest neighborhood of Buca, and Izmir Bay will be reduced to 15 minutes. 400 thousand citizens per day will benefit from the 13 and a half kilometer Buca Metro. In other words, 1 in 10 Izmir residents will use Buca Metro. Our metro will operate every 90 seconds during peak transportation hours. A total of 20 train sets, each consisting of six wagons, will operate on the line. Tunnel drilling machines, TBMs, which we call 'moles' today, go underground. In December 2025, we will see the light at the end of that tunnel. The tunnel excavations, which we will start with 2 TBMs of 90 meters in length and 6.5 meters in diameter, will be continued with a total of 4 TBMs in the forthcoming months. Currently, more than 500 workers are working 24 hours a day at this construction site to complete the largest investment in Izmir's history. Their goal is to complete the first stage of the metro, Üçyol Şirinyer, in June 2026. This will be the first stage. "Thanks to our state-of-the-art machines and dedicated staff, we will complete the Buca Metro, which consists of 11 stops between Üçyol and Buca, without any delay," he said.
 
“We connect our three lines with Buca Metro”
Stating that Buca Metro has another very important revolutionary feature, Mayor Soyer said, “With Buca Metro, we connect our three rail system lines and weave Izmir with iron networks. "Buca Metro will intersect with the Narlıdere-Bornova metro line at Üçyol, with İZBAN at Şirinyer, and with the Karabağlar-Gaziemir metro line, which we will build in the forthcoming period, at General Asım Gündüz station," he said.
 
“Always Republic, always Izmir!”
Mayor Soyer, who criticized the Ministry of Transport regarding rail system investments and gave good news for Narlıdere and Çiğli, said, “There is not a single letter 'U' belonging to the Ministry of Transport in this city. There is only one municipality in Turkey that built its own metro line with its own resources. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality. Currently, the construction of 3 separate light rail systems continues rapidly. Hundreds of our staff work hard in each of them. I would like to herald two more grand openings that will be written in golden letters in the history of the Republic next February. Narlıdere Metro and Çiğli Tram. I am proud to complete these projects, which constitute two very important legs of our goal of knitting Izmir with iron networks, during my term of office. On this historic day, I promise once again in your presence. We will give back to Izmir the rights that have been usurped until now. We did not allow anyone to give up the rights of Izmir, which was punished and treated like a stepchild because it always voted in favor of democracy, secularism, the Republic and Ataturk. We won't let you ruin! We will either change this illegal system that takes 40 from Izmir and gives 1, or we will change it! We will achieve this together, shoulder to shoulder, as we have done for five years. You chose us, we are here to serve and we will continue to serve with your discretion. Let our rail system revolution, Buca Metro, be a gift to the 100th anniversary of our Republic and to Izmir. Always Republic, always Izmir!” He concluded his words by saying that.