4,000 people to work in construction of 1915 Çanakkale Bridge: Consortium member

BURSA

More than 4,000 people will be employed to work in the construction of the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, a leading member of the consortium building the bridge has said.

The bridge is expected to be the longest suspension bridge in the world by its length of main span with 2,023 meters.

On Jan. 26, a consortium of South Korean companies Daelim and SK E&C and Turkey’s Yapı Merkezi and Limak won a tender and a 192-month lease for the historic bridge on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. 

The groundbreaking ceremony for the bridge took place on March 18, the 102nd anniversary of the Çanakkale War. 

“Over 4,000 people will likely be employed to build this key project,” said Limak chair Nihat Özdemir, as quoted by state-run Anadolu Agency on April 7.

He noted that the bridge will play a key role in easing trade between Turkey and Europe as trucks will directly pass through the two destinations without any need to go around Istanbul. 

“The bridge will also enable the Çanakkale region to attract more tourists and tourism investments,” Özdemir added. 

The bridge is expected to be 32 meters longer than the world’s longest bridge - the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge between Kobe and Awaji islands in Japan - as reported by Anadolu Agency on March 17. 

The crossing will be built about 200 kilometers (124 miles) southwest of the country’s financial heart Istanbul.
        
The bridge is expected to open in 2023 when the country marks the centennial of the Turkish Republic, for an around 10.5 billion Turkish Liras of investment. 


Istanbul’s new airport

Özdemir, whose company is also a part of the consortium building the third airport in Istanbul, said it is slated to open in 2018.
 
“We have been progressing in line with our pre-defined schedule. There is no problem. First flight will be made in 2018,” he added. 

The new under-construction airport in Istanbul is planned to have two runways and one terminal. It is expected to reach a capacity of 150 million passengers after the completion of two more runways and additional facilities.

Once the first section opens, around 2,000 airplanes will be able to land and take off daily. The first section will also have a passenger capacity of 90 million and a terminal building that covers an area of 1.3 million square meters.