Izmir Tramway

Project description

This summary covers a non-shareholder loan from ING Bank, a branch of ING-DiBa AG of Germany to the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality for the Izmir Tramway project in Turkey. The lender has applied for a MIGA guarantee of €60 million ($81.3 million equivalent) for a period of up to 13 years against the risk of non-honoring of sovereign financial obligations.

The project consists of the construction of two urban tramway lines and related rolling stock in the city of Izmir. The Konak tramway will be a 12.8 kilometer, fully electrified street tram line with 19 stations and 21 tram vehicles operating along a dedicated right-of-way on the southern and eastern side of Izmir bay. The Karsiyaka tramway will be a 9.7 kilometer, fully electrified street tram line with 16 stations and 17 tram vehicles operating along a dedicated right-of-way on the northern side of Izmir bay. 

The World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) will be a lender to the project and is also acting as lead arranger for other loans.

Environmental Categorization

The project is a category B under MIGA’s Policy on Environmental and Social Sustainability. Click here to view the Environmental and Social Review Summary prepared by the IFC for their investment in the project.

Development Impact

The proposed project will improve urban transit services, limit traffic congestion along important sections of Izmir’s arterial road network, and contribute to greenhouse gas reduction.

The proposed project will also complement MIGA’s recent support to Izmir’s marine transport project and IFC’s traffic management project, both of which will reduce road congestion and, in the former, increase connectivity between different modes of transport within the city.

The project is aligned with the World Bank Group’s Country Partnership Strategy for Turkey. Improving transportation infrastructure is a key component of the Bank Group’s focus on helping Turkey improve its competitiveness and employment opportunities.

MIGA’s proposed support for this investment is also aligned with the Agency’s strategy of supporting complex projects.