Invitation to tender, deadline 12th June, 2007 for BOT concession contract for a road tunnel crossing under the Bosphorus. The project will connect Kazlií§esme region on the European side with Göztepe road crossing on the Asian side. The tunnel will be a two-deck two-lane link for only light vehicles. The tunnel includes a 3.3 km undersea section and 2.1 km connecting roads, totalling 5.4 km. The toll booths will be on the European side. The concessionaire will carry out advanced engineering studies and the final application project preparation works, including geological and geotechnical work. He will also finance and operate the tunnel. Read E-News Weekly 43/2006 for more. Contact General directorate of railways, harbours and airports (DLH), Mr Mehmet Korkmaz, tel. +90 3125501717, fax +90 3125501718, e-mail mkorkmaz@ubak.gov.tr 05/07.Two consortiums have made offers for the BOT concession contract for an immersed highway tunnel project to connect the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The Turkish-Korean Joint Venture (TKJV) made up of Turkey's Yapi Merkezi and South Korean companies SKEC, Samwhan Corp., Hansin, Namkwang Engineering & Construction and Kukdong Corp. as well as a consortium of Turkish firms Cengiz, Makyol and Dogus and France's VINCI submitted their bids in a tender organised by the Railroads, Ports and Airports Construction General Directorate (DLH) of the Ministry for transport. The tunnel, to be constructed under the Bosphorus, will connect the two sides of Istanbul. It will have two levels of traffic and two lanes per direction. Each level will be dedicated to one direction of traffic. Planned to be completed in around three years, the project will consist of tunnelling methods such as advanced TBM technology for the parts under the sea and open cut and NATM for other parts. The total length of the project including connecting roads will be 5.5 km. The length of the TBM tunnel will be 3.34 km, with internal diameter of 11.4 metres and external diameter of 12.4 metres. The NATM cross-section will be 15 m wide and 22 m high, whereas the open cut cross-section will be 10 mwide and 6 m high. Visit www.dlh.gov.tr 28/08.In the tender organised by the transportation ministry's railroads, ports and airports construction general directorate (DLH), a Turkish-French consortium formed by Cengiz, Makyol, Dogus and VINCI offered the lowest bid in a tender for the construction of a road tunnel project that is to connect the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. The consortium offered a contract period of 19 years for the tunnel, six years for investment and 13 years for running. The tunnel will be located deeper than the tubes of the Marmaray project, a railway project currently under construction that will also link the two sides of the city. The tunnel, to be constructed under the Bosphorus, will have two levels and two lanes. Each level will be dedicated to one direction of traffic. Click tr/30. Visit www.dlh.gov.tr 34-35/08.

The Avrasya Tuneli (Eurasia Tunnel) AS (an SPV incorporated to execute the Project, “ATAS” in short) signed the finance documents on 11.12.2012 in Ankara. ATAS, jointly owned by Yapi Merkezi and SK Engineering & Construction of Korea, will have the right to build and operate for 30 years the Eurasia tunnel for light motor vehicles, a 5.4 km-long tunnel some 25 m-deep beneath the Bosphorus in Istanbul. Overall length of the project is 14.6 km, for which construction of the approach roads will start at the Asian side. Start of commercial operation is scheduled for late-2016 or early-2017. Visit www.ym.com.tr. 51/12

.

The consortium Italferr (Italy)/Altinok (Turkey) has been awarded the EUR3.9 million contract for the supervision of works and design review of Eurasia Tunnel, the undersea road tunnel that will connect the European and Asiatic sides of Istanbul. The Eurasia Tunnel, about 15 km-long, including 3.4 km below sea level, at a depth of about 25 m, crosses the Bosphorus Strait in parallel with the Marmaray rail tunnel. Once completed, it will allow the connection between the two continents in 15 minutes, compared to the current 100 minutes. The entire project is funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) with a loan of EUR110 million. Visit http://www.fsnews.it/cms/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=43c6b7e482506410VgnVCM1000008916f90aRCRD. 24/14.