Turkey opens huge suspension bridge between Europe and Asia

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday inaugurated a massive suspension bridge across the Dardanelles Strait, the latest in a series of major infrastructure projects he prioritized during his two decades in power.

Connecting Turkey’s European and Asian coasts, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge was built by Turkish and South Korean companies with an investment of €2.5 billion (US$2.8 billion). The work has the longest span – the distance between two towers – of any suspension bridge in the world.

These megaprojects have been central to Erdogan’s achievements since his AK party came to power in 2002, including a new Istanbul airport, rail and road tunnels under the Bosphorus Strait and a bridge over it.

“These works will continue to generate profit for the state for many years to come,” Turkey’s president said at an opening ceremony on the anniversary of the 1915 Ottoman naval victory against French and British forces in the Dardanelles during World War I.

“These projects play a large role in putting our country at the forefront in investment, labor and exports,” he said.

Last year, he launched what he once called a “crazy project”: a $15 billion canal in Istanbul aimed at easing pressure on the bustling Bosphorus Strait.

However, critics questioned the project’s feasibility due to Turkey’s economic problems, environmental risks and public opposition.

expensive venture

Ahead of national elections scheduled for 2023, opinion polls showed a drop in popularity for Erdogan and his AK party, raising the opposition’s prospects of ousting him.

The main opposition CHP has criticized the potential cost of the bridge, with media reports saying the build-operate-transfer deal includes an annual payment guarantee of €380 million (US$420 million) to operators or a total of €6. billion.

Erdogan said the toll price for vehicles will be 200 lira (US$13.50).

Work on the Dardanelles Bridge project launched in March 2017, with over 5,000 workers involved in the construction. The length of 2,023 meters (1.25 miles) of its average span is an allusion to the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in 2023.

It is the fourth bridge connecting the European and Asian coasts in Turkey, next to the three built in Istanbul.

Its towers are 318 meters (347.8 yd) high and the total length of the bridge is 4.6 km (2.9 mi), including access viaducts.

Until now, vehicles traveling between Anatolia and the Gallipoli peninsula had to cross the Dardanelles on a one-hour ferry ride, which, including waiting time, amounted to five hours. The journey will now take about six minutes.

Source: CNN Brasil

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