General Director of Municipality Bank Karahan: Turkey Still Has One Thousand Kilometers of Asbestos Water Pipes

Eyyüp Karahan, General Director of the Municipality Bank, disclosed before the Parliamentary Committee on State-Owned Enterprises that based on data collected from municipalities across Turkey, approximately one thousand kilometers of asbestos-containing drinking water pipes are still in operation. Karahan stated that he finds it regrettable that the issue continues to remain on the agenda, noting that these problems are generally located in rural areas, in the former jurisdictions of closed municipalities and village services, and are now on the agenda of provincial administrations as well. He pledged to resolve the issue, saying "we will solve this quickly."

Karahan also noted that budget has been allocated for the pipes in question and that work is ongoing; however, he did not announce a definite completion date or budget figures.

The discussion in the committee was initiated by CHP Deputy from Niğde Ömer Fetih Gürer. Gürer drew attention to the continued presence of asbestos pipes in drinking water networks despite the ban on asbestos use in 2012. Gürer stated that he recalls the figure being around 17 percent but that he was not certain of the exact data, and said "these asbestos water pipes must be replaced as soon as possible."