Transport Turkey opens fastest metro line to Europe’s busiest airport By Pramod Kumar January 23, 2023, 6:13 AM REUTERS/Osman Orsal The Kagıthane-Istanbul Airport Metro Line will have a capacity of 800,000 passengers per day Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan has opened Istanbul’s new high-speed metro line connecting the city to the mega Istanbul Airport, known as “Europe’s busiest in 2022”, Daily Sabah newspaper reported. The 34-kilometre metro link marks the first railway connection with Turkey’s largest airport from the Kagıthane neighbourhood. Erdogan said that the Kagıthane-Istanbul Airport Metro Line will have a capacity of 800,000 passengers per day with the distance covered in 24 minutes. Istanbul Airport, officially declared open in late October 2018 before becoming fully operational in April 2019, is dubbed the busiest airport in Europe, with an average of 1,156 daily flights last year, the report said. The president said the government will connect the new line with the Zincirlikuyu Metrobus stop in a few months. Transport and infrastructure minister Adil Karaismailoglu previously said that the metro line to the Istanbul Airport would be the fastest metro in Europe, travelling of speeds up to 120 kilometres per hour. Turkey is also looking to connect a high-speed train line between Istanbul and Ankara to the two airports in the metropolis, the report stated.
Economy Bahrain debt hits $48bn but analyst downplays spending fears Bahrain’s public debt has risen to almost BHD18 billion ($48 billion), according to its ministry of finance, but a banking expert has downplayed concerns over its spending. Bahrain, the smallest country in the GCC bloc of six with a population of almost 1.5 million people, has dwindling reserves of oil and gas. It is partially […] 3 hours ago
Construction Eagle Hills signs contract for Budapest redevelopment Abu Dhabi-based developer Eagle Hills has signed a real estate purchase agreement with Hungary to start work on transforming a rundown area of Budapest. The project, spanning an area of 100 hectares, will have a development cost of more than €12 billion ($12.3 billion), the developer said in a statement. The project is supported by the […] 1 hour ago
Finance Kuwait ministries free to increase public service charges Kuwait issued a decree on Sunday that will allow ministries to set charges for public services for the first time in 30 years. The decree, which abolishes a 1995 law, gives ministries authority to decide on fees and costs for public services, which will then be approved by the cabinet. The government aims to better […] 1 hour ago
Economy Lebanon and Sudan swell Arab countries’ public debt Public debt in Arab countries swelled by nearly $142 billion at the end of 2023, mainly because of a sharp rise in obligations by Lebanon and war-battered Sudan. Total debt increased despite a fall in Egypt’s public, mostly domestic, dues as a result of a large depreciation in the pound against the US dollar. The […] 13 mins ago
