The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is stepping up support for critical urban infrastructure in Türkiye, according to a recent announcement. The Bank is extending a €110 million loan to help finish the Ümraniye–Ataşehir–Göztepe metro line in Istanbul and providing a €42 million sovereign loan for a new wastewater treatment plant in Osmaniye, a province hard hit by the February 2023 earthquakes. Together, the projects aim to improve daily services while strengthening climate resilience and recovery efforts.
In Istanbul, the new metro line will link dense residential areas, major business hubs and a key healthcare facility, including the fast-growing Istanbul Financial Centre. By offering a faster, low‑carbon alternative to private cars, the line is expected to ease congestion, cut emissions and improve quality of life on the city’s Asian side. The investment also supports the climate action plan Istanbul adopted under the EBRD’s Green Cities programme, developed with donor backing from the TaiwanBusiness‑EBRD Technical Cooperation Fund.
In Osmaniye, the Bank’s financing will replace an overstretched wastewater plant with a modern facility able to treat 75,000 cubic metres of sewage a day. The upgrade will bring effluent quality in line with European Union standards, improve regional water quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions through anaerobic digestion and biogas recovery. A parallel capacity‑building package under the EBRD’s Earthquake Response Framework will help the municipality improve crisis response, asset management and operational resilience.
Iller Bankasi will serve as the implementing agency, channelling international finance into the new plant and supporting better data collection on local residents to improve service access and public health outcomes. The investment comes as infrastructure needs remain high across Türkiye’s earthquake‑affected region, where the EBRD has already committed more than €1.6 billion for reconstruction, small and medium‑sized enterprises and key public services.
Since 2009, the EBRD has invested over €23 billion in Türkiye, mostly in the private sector. The latest metro and wastewater projects underscore how long‑term development finance can simultaneously advance recovery, climate goals and basic service delivery for urban communities.
