Gazipaşa on the Brink of Destruction
On January 10th, Adil Üstündağ, owner of the Greenpark Hotels chain whose Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) process was canceled for the planned "The Green Park Gazipaşa" project on Selinus Coast, has now started preparations for a new project on Gazipaşa’s natural wonder, Koru Coast. While the planned hotel project received a decision stating "Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is not required," the Gazipaşa Hepimizin Platform issued a call to “Immediately stop this mistake that will destroy Koru Coast.”
The untouched, natural pool area known as the wonder of nature, Koru Coast in Gazipaşa, is the site of a planned hotel project on 5 decares owned by Yeşilyurt Construction, which is affiliated with Adil Üstündağ. The project was given a decision that "Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is not necessary." Reactions came swiftly after the decision. Gazipaşa Hepimizin Platform, commenting on the "EIA not required" decision for this protected natural site, stated:
‘WRONG COASTAL PLANS HAVE BEEN MADE’
In the protected Koru Coast, in the Natural Pools region, the provincial government has given the decision that "EIA is not required" for the tourism facility planned by Yeşilyurt Construction. The parcels allocated for both the coast and hotels are protected areas, i.e., conservation sites. As we have emphasized from the beginning, this hotel project is also based on an incorrect coastal planning that harms nature and the district’s residents. For example, half of the hotel parcel is a day-use area. So, the entire hotel garden uses the day-use area, which should belong to the public. They also use the same construction ratio for the hotel area as the day-use area. Thus, the real construction ratio far exceeds what is stated. For the protected coastline, which was recently expanded by Presidential Decree, the increase in construction density since 2019 and the possibility to build at this intensity create a major contradiction. How do they do this? Through the plan revision made in 2019. While the public’s day-use areas are taken away, the construction ratios on protected coastlines are increased exponentially, and giant hotels are allowed to completely cover all three of our coasts. All local administrators who remain silent or support these plans during their preparation and approval stages are responsible for this situation, which is very wrong for nature and our people.
