Turkish highways and bridge project financing secured

The financing package that will pay for Turkey’s €2.43 billion Malkara to Çanakkale highway and 1915 Çanakkale Bridge has now been secured. This follows on from 2579 Mott MacDonald completing its technical due diligence of the project documentation. The project will be handled under the PPP model. The centrepiece of the project is the €1.68 billion Çanakkale 1915 bridge. This will be over 4.6km long, with a 2,023m main span that will be the longest in the world for a suspension bridge. It will allow a clearance of 70m at its centre to allow shipping to pass underneath, with 318m high steel towers built on concrete caissons in the Çanakkale Strait. As the bridge is located in a seismic zone, it has been designed to withstand large earthquakes and is also being built to cope with severe winds.

Other construction works include the 88km highway between Malkara and Çanakkale, 48km of connection roads, 35km of access roads, six junctions, four viaducts, 36 overpasses, 33 underpasses and 140 culverts, as well as four service areas and tolling facilities.

Mott MacDonald’s work included reviewing design, construction methodology, operation and maintenance proposals, as well as transaction documents, the project’s budget, construction programme and payment mechanism. The consultancy will now provide construction and operations monitoring services in an ongoing role.

Emre Yukarioglu, Mott MacDonald’s project manager, said: “The project, which involves 24 lenders including local and international banks and export credit agencies, is part of a greater development plan devised by the Turkish Directorate of Highways to complete a ring road around Marmara. Our local team based in Istanbul, supported by long-span bridge experts and our transport advisory team from the UK, worked hard to support a large lending group and comply with the tight timeline to bring the project to financial close.”

Construction of the Malkara – Çanakkale Motorway PPP, which has a concession period of just over 16 years, is expected to be completed by the end of 2021. Other firms involved in the project include Daelim, Limak, SK Engineering and Yapı Merkezi.