Turkey's big hopes for bridge tender

ANKARA- Anatolia News Agency

Yıldırım hopes to receive bids from Chinese firms for new Bosphorus bridge. AA photo

Turkey was hopeful about receiving bids for construction of a third bridge over Istanbul’s Bosphorus after a failure last month, according to Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım.

The tender for the build-operate-transfer scheme construction of the third bridge is scheduled to take place April 5.

“We are hopeful about receiving bids for the tender and we are expecting bids from Chinese companies,” Yıldırım told Anatolia news agency during an exclusive interview yesterday.

The Transportation Ministry decided to divide the 430 km North Marmara Highway project into two parts to downsize the tender after 18 registered Turkish and foreign companies failed to bid for the sum by the deadline of Jan. 10.

“We will receive bids on April 5, and we will construct the rest of the project simultaneously from the national budget,” Yıldırım said.

Moreover, Yıldırım spoke of a planned airport near Istanbul, saying the city would host 150 million air passengers by 2023. “Istanbul needs a third airport, and we have fixed a place to construct the airport,” he said.