Marmaray crossing mooted at $650 million for 13.3 km including 1.8 km immersed tube joining Yenikapi with Sogutlucesme. Four year construction period. August 1998.   First US$117 million tranche of Japanese funding for the cross-Bosphorus rail link has been released to finance consultants to oversee design and tendering of the project and preliminary construction work. Japan's Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) has already agreed to provide US$866 million for the US$1.6 billion project. The 13.3 km-long Bosphorus crossing will be combined with upgrading of the existing TCDD suburban lines to create a 76.3 km-long high-capacity railway across the Istanbul conurbation from Gebze to Halkali. The 1.8 km-long earthquake-proof immersed tube crossing will be assembled from 18 sections. It will be accessed by bored approaches from Yenikapi on the European side and Sogutlucesme on the Anatolian side. There will be intermediate stations at Sirkeci and Uskudar where the tunnel passes under the old city. Construction is expected to take around four years. December 1999.   Turkey's General Directorate of Railway, Port & Airport Construction has shortlisted three consortia for consultancy and engineering services. They are Pacific Consultancy of Japan with Parsons Brinckerhoff and Yuksel Project; Nippon Koei, Mott MacDonald, Louis Berger, Su Yapi Muhendislik, Nippon Civic and Sverdrup; and Prokon Muhendislik, Chiyoda, Akun, DE-Consult, Bung, TEC and Setec. The consultancy contract will be awarded with the aim of starting work early in 2001. Construction is expected to take around four years. The three consortia are to be vetted by Japan's Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund (OECF) before the final tenders are issued. Contact through www.mottmac.com April 2000.   Design contract for upgrade of 63 km of line with new 13.3 km-long marine link across Bosphorus from Gebze to Haliki and three underground stations awarded to PCI, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Yuksel. Tunnel will be bored from both sides, with 1.8 km-long immersed tube in central section at 58 m below sea level. Project value $1.2 billion, duration four years. Visit www.pbworld.com 44/01.   $2.5 billion engineering and consultancy agreement signed for the Marmaray project between the ministry of transport and the Avrasya consortium. The project involves the construction of a 13.3 km crossing over the Bosphorus and the upgrade of 63 km of suburban railway. $800 million to be spent for a 1.8 km earthquake-proof immersed tube, taking four years to build. 02/02.   Invitation to prequalify issued by the General Directorate of Railways, Harbours and Airports (DLH) for design and construction of the Istanbul Strait rail tube tunnel called 'Marmaray' and the Gebze-Halkali surface metro system after approval by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The project includes a 2 km-long two-track immersed tunnel beneath the Bosphorus between the districts of Eminönü on the European side and íœsküdar on the Asian side of Istanbul, two-track approach tunnels on both sides of the immersed tunnel totalling 12 kilometres of combined bored tunnels, cut-and-cover tunnels and open cuts, and four deep underground stations. DLH is expected to collect bids for the tender in April 2003. Contact Mrs F. Simin Pehlivan, Ministry of Transportation, General Directorate of Railways, Harbours and Airports Construction (DLH), fax +90 312 2122874, E-mail simin@ubak.gov.tr. Visit www.ubak.gov.tr/tr/dlh/home/engmarmaray.htm 33/02.   The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) has agreed to finance the Bosphorus strait tunnel crossing and 76.3 km-long Gebze-Haydarpasa and Sirkeci-Halkali suburb line paving the way to the tendering phase to be launched by DLH, the general directorate of railways, harbours and airports construction under the ministry of transportation. A 1.8 km immersed tunnel under the Bosphorus strait will be built to link the European and Asian sides and 12 km of connecting tunnels on both sides. The four prequalifiers are: Hazama / Penta Ocean / Yuksel Construction / Guris Construction; Kajima / Nishimatsu / Mitsubishi Heavy Industries / Enka / Dogus; Kumagai Gumi / Taisei / Gama / Nurol Construction; and Obayashi / Construction Center / Kiska / Metis. Estimated cost: €2.5 billion. Visit www.ubak.gov.tr/tr/dlh/index.html 05/03.  The four prequalifiers for the 1.8 km Marmaray tunnel across the Bosphorus strait and associated works, including 12 km of approach tunnels on both sides of the strait, are Kajima / Nishimatsu / Mitsubishi / Enka / Dogus; Hazama / Penta Ocean / Yuksel Guris; Taisei / Kumagai Gumi / Gauma / Nurol; and Obayashi / Construction Center / Kiska / Metis. Construction of the $2.5 billion Marmaray tunnel and the upgrading of existing rail links on both sides will begin in 2004 for completion in 2008. The tunnel will start in Yedikule, continue to Yenikapi and Sirkeci underground stations, cross the strait and be connected to another underground station at íœsküdar. After that point, the line will run above ground in Sogutlucesme. In total, the railway, including the tunnel, will be 13.5 km. Tenders for the project will open in October with work expected to begin in mid-2004. 27/03.The Kajima / Nishimatsu / Mitsubishi / Enka / Dogus consortium has withdrawn from the bid for the subsea metro tunnel project to connect the Asian and European sides of Istanbul, also known as Marmaray. The consortium said that the contract conditions were difficult to fulfill. The expiry date for submitting an offer is 3rd October, 2003. Three consortia remain in the race. 38/03.The transport ministry received two preliminary bids from Turkish-Japanese consortiums in a tender to build a rail tunnel under the Bosphorus straits between the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The first consortium is formed by Taisei, Kumagai Gumi and Turkey's Gama and Nurol. The second group includes Obayashi and Turkey's Yapi Merkezi, Metis and Kiska. The $2.5 billion Marmaray project covers a distance of 13.1 km. The bids will be evaluated within two months. The first tunnel phase of the project, to be financed by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), is expected to cost around $800 million. The second phase, linking the tunnel to an existing rail line between the stations of Halkali and Gebze, is forecast to cost $700 million, while the trains and signalling in the third phase will cost around $1 billion. Officials plan to lay the foundation stone in the first quarter of 2004. 02/04.A USD2 billion contract for the third crossing of the Bosphorus Strait was signed on 6th May by a consortium between Taisei, Kumagai Gumi, Gama and Nurol. Construction was officially launched on 9th May. The project, also known as Marmaray, includes a 13.3 km tunnel crossing and the upgrade of 63 km of suburban line to create a 76.3 km high capacity line between Gebze and Halkali. The Bosphorus Strait will be crossed by a 1.8 km immersed tube tunnel, composed of 18 elements sunk at a depth of approximately 60 m. This tube will be accessed by bored tunnels from Yenikapi on the European side and Sogutlucesme on the Asian side of Istanbul. Stations will be built at Sirkeci and Uskudar. The project is due to finish in 2008. Visit www.taisei.co.jp/english 21/04.CPG Consultants of Singapore has been engaged by Taisei and its JV partners Kumagai, Gama and Nurol to lead the design of the 1,387 m immersed tunnel crossing under the Bosphorus Strait, which is part of the 13,558 m Marmara railway tunnel project to link the Asian and European continents. The USD1 billion project also involves the design and construction of three TBM-driven twin-tube sections (2 x 4,620 m, 2 x 3,343 m and 2 x 2,170 m from east to west), cut-and-cover portions and three underground stations, one on the Asian side (the Usukudar cut-and-cover station) and two on the European side (Yenikapi and Sirkuci, to be built respectively in cut-and-cover and NATM). Deepest station at about 50 m underground. Also Kazlicesme station at grade on the European side. The earthquake-proof immersed tunnel will be one of the deepest of its kind in the world, at 55 m below sea level at its lowest point. It is scheduled to be completed in 2009. The Bosphorus Strait joins the Marmara Sea with the Black Sea and separates Europe and Asia. Visit www.cpgcorp.com.sg and www.marmaray.com 05/05.