Turkey to open tender for third bridge over Bosphorus strait

The Turkish government plans to call for a tender for the construction of the third intercontinental bridge over the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, a high-ranking government official said on Wednesday.

Transport Minister Binali Yildirim told reporters in Istanbul that "the construction work may begin as early as next year if a tender is decided and all things go well."

The government unveiled in April the route for the 1,275-meter suspension bridge which will be built on the northern part of the strait, close to the Black Sea.

The bridge is expected to cost some 6 billion U.S. dollars and will connect Northern Marmara Highway with Trans European Motorway.

Istanbul's first bridge over Bosphorus strait was the Bosphorus (Bogazici) Bridge, also called the First Bosphorus Bridge. The 1, 510-meter gravity anchored suspension bridge is located between Ortakoy on the European side and Beylerbeyi on the Asian side and it was built in 1973.

In 1988, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, Istanbul's second bridge named after the 15th century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, was completed.

Source: Xinhua