The construction of the Canakkale 1915 bridge, spanning over 2,000 meters between Lapseki and Gelibolu in the northwestern Canakkale province, is set to start by March 18 and open in 2023 when the country marks the centennial of the Republic of Turkey, according to the country's Transport Ministry. "Whoever gives the shortest time for the construction will win the bid," said Sefer Tirman, the head of the General Highways Directorate (KGM) and chairman of the bid committee.
Some 24 companies are competing to win the project.
Under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, Turkey has been working to build giant infrastructure projects across the country to boost economic growth, including Istanbul’s third airport with a capacity up to 200 million passengers a year. In 2015, Turkey raised the bar with the financial closure of seven projects totaling a record $44.7 billion, according to the World Bank Group.
A total of four mega-projects are currently under construction: Istanbul’s third airport, the Gebze-Halkali commuter train link in Istanbul, the Ovit tunnel in northeastern Anatolia, and the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars Railway.