Business · Companies · 5 hrs ago
MESA Holding CEO Calls for Climate-Ready Building and Planned Urban Renewal
MESA Holding CEO Mert Boysanoğlu called for building methods suited to local climate risks after flooding in Istanbul last week.
He said cities should prepare for hazards such as heavy rain and earthquakes rather than trying to resist nature.
Boysanoğlu also argued that urban renewal needs public-private cooperation and larger, planned projects, not solutions limited to individual plots.
He said Turkey needs 600,000 new homes each year, with much of the demand among lower-income households, and called for the state to make cheaper land available.
MESA has put 300 homes up for sale in its Yenişehir Başakşehir project, planned to include 4,000 homes in total.
The company says the project will cover 2 million square metres and cost $1.5 billion, while prices start at 9 million lira.
Boysanoğlu said access to financing remains a key difficulty for homebuyers, but no further steps or timing for the proposed policy changes were given.
MESA Holding CEO Mert Boysanoğlu said Turkey should adopt building models suited to changing climate conditions and prepare for natural disasters.
He referred to flooding in Istanbul the previous week and called for planning that accounts for permeable and impermeable land.
Boysanoğlu said urban renewal requires public-private cooperation and larger, planned projects rather than parcel-by-parcel solutions.
He said Turkey needs 600,000 new homes each year, with demand concentrated among lower-income households.
MESA Holding said its YeniKent Başakşehir project will include 4,000 homes and have an investment cost of $1.5 billion.
- Who
- Mert Boysanoğlu, CEO of MESA Holding, called for climate-adapted construction and planned urban renewal.
- What
- He urged preparation for natural disasters and public-private cooperation on larger-scale urban renewal projects.
- When
- The article was published on October 20, 2026. Boysanoğlu referred to flooding in Istanbul the previous week.
- Where
- Turkey, including Istanbul and the YeniKent Başakşehir project.
- Why
- Boysanoğlu said construction should adapt to climate conditions and that urban renewal requires coordinated planning; he also cited housing needs, especially among lower-income households.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Flooding occurred in Istanbul, which Mert Boysanoğlu cited while discussing climate-adapted construction.
MESA Holding began collecting preliminary applications for 843 homes at YeniKent Başakşehir.
Dünya published the interview and reported that 300 homes in the project had been put up for sale.
- Annual housing need
- 600,000 new homes in Turkey
- YeniKent Başakşehir
- 4,000 homes planned across 2 million square metres
- Landscaped area
- 1 million square metres
- Project investment
- $1.5 billion
- Starting apartment price
- 9 million TL
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What people are saying
We cannot fight nature; we must move to building models that allow us to adapt.
A model of urban renewal without the state stepping in and without public-private cooperation cannot succeed.
We cannot get anywhere with parcel-based solutions; on the contrary, we make the city less livable.
In periods of economic difficulty, buyers first give up on buying a home.