TURKEY: Eight metro, light rail and tram projects have been included in Istanbul municipality's 2001 capital investment budget, which was unveiled in mid-December. Total expenditure on rail schemes is put at 4000bn lire.
The largest proportion of the money is allocated for construction of new suburban rail corridors feeding into the planned Marmaray cross-Bosporus tunnel on the Asian side: Üsküdar - Ümraniye - Dudullu and Harem - Kartal.
On the European side, funding is allocated for the 1·8 km light metro extension from Yenibosna to the airport, and for the light metro branch from Otogar to Mahmutbey and Ikitelli Basak. The recently-opened heavy metro will be extended northwards from 4 Levent to Ayazaga. The Sirkeci - Aksaray tramway will be extended from Emin
