Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the opening ceremony of Çamlıca TV-Radio Tower in Istanbul.

Making a speech at the ceremony, Erdoğan expressed his excitement about the construction of the tower and said that it will be an important symbol of Istanbul.

Drawing attention to the hard work put into realizing the Çamlıca Tower project, Erdoğan said that the tower is the world’s first communications structure to allow nearly 100 radio stations to broadcast simultaneously.

Pointing out that the social facilities inside the tower will also significantly contribute to tourism,  Erdoğan congratulated all those who contributed to its construction.

Recalling that Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque was opened last year and Taksim Mosque yesterday, Erdoğan added that the ground is planned to be broken for Canal Istanbul later in June.

Küçük Çamlıca TV Radio Tower is a telecommunications tower with observation decks and restaurants in Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey. Its top is the highest point above sea level in Istanbul.

The tower is situated on Küçük Çamlıca Hill. The construction began on 1 March 2016 and is being carried out by Sarıoğlu Construction Co. It is being built in concrete on a 21 m deep foundation.

 A steel mast of 145 m height for radio and television transmission is mounted atop the 220.50 m high concrete tower. The total height of the tower is 365.50 m with its top standing 583.5 m above main sea level. It is the highest structure in Istanbul. Its cross-section has an elliptical form with the main axes of 13 and 16 m, which become smaller upwards. Each tower floor will be 4.50 m high. Two observation decks are situated on the 33rd and 34th floors at 148 and 153 m in height. The 39th and 40th floors at 153 and 175 m height host a restaurant and a cafeteria. Libraries and exhibition halls are situated in the basement floors. A panoramic elevator and a service elevator serve the tower. It is hoped that the tower will attract about 4.5 million visitors yearly.

Küçük Çamlıca Tower is capable of hosting 125 broadcasting transmitters (DVB-T2 and DAB compatible). It has replaced most of the steel communications masts at the two neighboring Çamlıca hills, which caused visual pollution and are considered to be harmful to health. The construction cost was 170 million liras (approx. US$48.5 million, 2017).

As of 2021, construction has been finished and test broadcasts have begun. (ILKHA)