Üsküdar Municipality's debt surged 6.4-fold in 2.5 years, reaching 6.65 billion TL

Üsküdar Municipality's total debt has increased approximately 6.4-fold over the past 2.5 years, reaching 6.65 billion TL; the municipality's cash and sellable real estate assets are insufficient to cover this burden.

The figures were disclosed at the Municipal Council meeting held on October 7, 2026, by Acting President Dündar Ziya Gültekin.

Based on data from the first nine months of 2026, the municipality spent 53 percent of its 13 billion TL expenditure budget while collecting only 44 percent of its revenue budget. During the January-September period, expenses reached 6.9 billion TL while revenue remained at 5.7 billion TL; the 1.2 billion TL gap was not closed during the first three quarters of the year.

Investment spending also lagged significantly behind targets: only 541 million TL of the 1.96 billion TL investment allocation was spent. From the social assistance budget, 152 million TL of 448.5 million TL was used; the share of investments in total spending remained at 8 percent, while social assistance accounted for 2 percent.

Üsküdar is one of Istanbul's most populous districts; with a population exceeding 550,000, the service area directly affected by the budget deficit is large. In the previous term, the municipality also handed over the budget without closing the deficit.