Construction of Ro-Ro port in Istanbul to ease city traffic

Fatma Aksu - ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

A harbor will be built for roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ships on the European side of Istanbul, which will help eliminate the number of semi-trailer trucks clogging up the streets and highways of the metropolis and ease traffic in the region.   

The Ro-Ro port, which will transport long-haul trucks from Istanbul’s southwestern Ambarlı district to Yalova’s Topçular district in the east of the Marmara Sea, will be constructed after the Environmental Impact Report (ÇED) for the project, which was presented to Istanbul’s Environment and Urbanization Directorate, is accepted.

The project, which is estimated to be constructed within three years and will cost a total of 110 million Turkish Liras, aims to decrease the strain on Istanbul’s clogged roads by some 2,000 semi-trailer trucks or 3,500 trucks, the estimated carriage figures for the Ro-Ro ships which will operate between Ambarlı and Topçular on a daily basis. 

The trucks will travel from Europe to Asia by means of a two-hour sea voyage, plus a half-an-hour loading time, greatly reducing the 300-kilometer trip by road which can take up to seven hours. The project also aims to reduce wear and tear on the roads between the two cities. 

The Ro-Ro port at Ambarlı will be built on a total of 162,373 square meters of land which belongs to the Treasury and the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. A part of sea will be filled within the scope of the project, which will be conducted by Istanbul Fast Ferries Co. Inc. (İDO A.Ş.), which was purchased by the Tepe–Akfen–Souter-Sera joint venture after it was privatized in 2011. 

The Environment and Urbanization Ministry will hold a meeting on Aug. 20 to inform citizens about the project and its possible effects regarding the ÇED report. 


Metro line project to Istanbul’s third airport launched

Meanwhile, the project to construct a metro line to connect Istanbul’s third airport to the city center has also been launched, Transportation, Maritime and Communications Minister Feridun Bilgin has said. 

The Gayrettepe-Third Airport metro line will be 33 kilometers long and will take 26 minutes from one end to the other. Gayrettepe, where the existing metro, metrobus and bus lines currently meet, will be the main transfer point. 

Bilgin said the study-project construction tender was conducted on July 27, with the aim of completing this phase of the project in one year’s time.