Turkish government to finance Bosphorus bridge

Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım clarifies the Plan B after a failed tender for the Northern Marmara Highway Project, which includes building the third bridge over Istanbul’s Bosphorus. The project will be financed from the national budget/

The Northern Marmara Highway Project, which includes construction of a third bridge over Istanbul’s Bosphorus, will be developed with local resources, said Transport Minister Binali Yıldırım, adding that the ministry will go out to tender again soon.

“The bridge and a 65 to 70-km-long highway will be included in the first tender. Then the remaining highways will be put to tender later on,” he said yesterday during a TV program.

The mega transportation project, which spans 414 km from Adapazarı to Tekirdağ, failed to attract any bids from a total of nine Turkish and nine foreign companies Jan. 10.

Just before it appeared that no bids were made that day Yıldırım had signaled to go with an alternate plan. “If no companies bid for the third bridge, we will launch our plan B,” Yıldırım had said.

The project, described as Turkey’s second-biggest build-operate-transfer scheme, was decided to be put to tender March 9 last year.

Some bidders had asked for a three month or six month delay, said the minister. “We did not think it was reasonable and decided not to extend the time [to hold bidding],” he said, adding that “We will finance it from the national project.” The build-operate-transfer scheme was tried, Yıldırım said.

“We will put the project to tender very soon. We plan to work with local resources. It takes a long time to get credit financing warranty in build-operate-transfer schemes. … We are revising the project. We will do it in stages.”

The project will begin in 2012, the minister said. It is not a project that only Turkey needs, but it is a transit route that will connect Europe to Caucasus, the Middle East and Far East, he said. “It will contribute to inner city traffic of Istanbul, but there will not be many connections to the city center.”


/Hurriyet Daily News/