Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, in his speech at the COP31 Area and Hotels Zone Roads Opening Program held at the EXPO Area in Antalya, said that the city has hosted different civilizations throughout history and hosted people from all over the world. Reminding that Antalya will host COP31 to be held on November 9-20, Kurum stated that heads of state and government, as well as scientists, business world representatives, non-governmental organizations and young people will come together in the city. Minister Kurum said that they act with an understanding of growing while protecting the environment and protecting the rights of future generations.
Stating that the 38-kilometer Belek Tourism Road has been completed within the scope of COP31 preparations, the Authority stated that over 21 kilometers of comprehensive work has been carried out in 4 main arteries, and a total of 16 thousand meters of work has been carried out on 12 connection roads.
The institution emphasized that the roads were not built only for COP31 and said, "Our guests will come, we will organize one of the most beautiful and important organizations in the world and the summit will end, everyone will return to their country. But these roads will remain here. For whom will they remain? They will remain for my brother from Antalya, our tradesmen, our tourism professionals, our youth and the future of Antalya."
Work in progress
Stating that the EXPO Area will continue to serve Antalya after the organization, Kurum said that the facility, which has a closed area of approximately 160 thousand square meters, will be used to contribute to employment and production. Minister Kurum stated that the EXPO Area of approximately 1 million square meters was rearranged within the scope of COP31 preparations.
Explaining that they planned the area as a "Blue Zone" and a "Green Zone", Kurum noted that official negotiations and meetings of international organizations will be held in the Blue Zone, and that the Green Zone will bring the climate summit together with the society.
200 million packages in 2 months
Murat Kurum, Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, announced that more than 200 million beverage packages were collected and recycled between July 1, 2026 and September 5, 2026, with the Depository Packaging (DOA) system. According to the data shared by the Minister Kurum; With the DOA system, whose national integration process started across Turkey as of July 1, 2026, 205 million 709 thousand 303 PET, aluminum and glass beverage packages with the DOA logo were collected until September 5. The number of users registered in the system reached 3 million 214 thousand 992.
The province where the most packaging was collected was Antalya with 46 million 678 thousand 972 packages. Antalya was followed by Istanbul (38 million 675 thousand 928), Izmir (24 million 339 thousand 288), Adana (18 million 723 thousand 778) and Ankara (16 million 712 thousand 516).
19.2 billion TL for culture and tourism in Antalya in 24 years
Minister of Culture and Tourism, Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, stated that 19.2 billion liras have been invested in culture and tourism in Antalya in the last 24 years, and that the number of accommodation facilities with operating licenses reached 2 thousand 709 from 523.
Ersoy, in his speech at the COP31 Area and Hotels Zone Roads opening program held in the EXPO Area with the participation of the Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum, said that the investments made, the projects implemented, the works and services brought to the city by different ministries with a common vision have made Antalya a center of choice for large international organizations.
