Türkiye is preparing for a long-awaited opening of a vast business district that will boast most of the country’s most prominent institutions and promises to place the Turkish metropolis among the world’s most important financial centers.
A ceremony led by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday will see the gradual launch of the Istanbul Finance Center (IFC), starting with the opening of the section that will be hosting banks.
The project started in 2009 and is being developed in the Ümraniye district on the city’s Anatolian side. It aims to make Istanbul a competitive destination for international financial institutions and investors and to support the growth of the Turkish economy.
The center will be a new home to most of Türkiye’s most prominent financial institutions and authorities, including the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT), the Borsa Istanbul Stock Exchange (BIST), the Banking Regulation and Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BDDK) and the Capital Markets Board of Türkiye (SPK).
The ceremony on Monday will mark the start of a new chapter for the country’s public lenders Ziraat Bank, Halkbank and VakıfBank, all of which have relocated to the center that is also expected to become home to other prominent domestic and international banks and financial institutions.
Run by the Türkiye Wealth Fund and developed in coordination with the Environment, Urban Planning and Climate Change Ministry, the IFC will host participation finance companies, financial investment and portfolio management companies and insurance firms.
The center boasts 1.3 million square meters of office space, a 100,000-square-meter shopping center, a conference and performance center for 2,100 people, a five-star hotel spanning 30,000 square meters and a parking lot with a capacity for 26,000 vehicles.
Meanwhile, the leasing demand from local and foreign companies for the spaces within the IFC is said to have far exceeded the supply.
The landmark project aims to establish a financial center that is on par, if not larger, than the existing ones in New York, London and Dubai.
With an innovative city model, the IFC features everything necessary to meet the business world’s needs. It is expected to have around 100,000 visitors per day, including employees.
The 21 office buildings, equipped with state-of-the-art technology, will bring all management systems under one roof. In addition, the high-level shopping center, which will include five-star meeting rooms and world-renowned luxury restaurants, is designed to meet the needs of employees and visitors.
The mall in the IFM will reflect the essence of the center with its modern facilities, unique architecture and functional design, and it is expected to boast shops of world-renowned retail brands.
The mall spread over 3.3 kilometers (2.05 miles) of streets, alleys and squares will provide an open-air shopping experience and offer a wide range of services and brand options in categories such as gastronomy, clothing, technology, art, entertainment and other retail.