Official name Büyük istanbul Tüneli Status Projected | ||
Owner Ministry of Transportation, Maritime and Communication | ||
The Great Istanbul Tunnel (Turkish: Büyük İstanbul Tüneli) is a proposed multi-use highway and railway undersea tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey to cross the Bosphorus strait. The project's completion is expected in 2020.
Project
The project was officially announced by Prime minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on February 27, 2015. The tunnel, 6.5 km (4.0 mi) in length and 18.80 m (61.7 ft) in diameter, will consists of three levels, two levels for road traffic and one level for rail system. It will be 110 m (360 ft) under the sea level. Situated between Gayrettepe on the European side and Küçüksu on the Asian side, it will integrate the highays between the three airports of the city, Istanbul Atatürk Airport, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Istanbul New Airport, and the nine rail lines of the Istanbul Metro. The three bridges over the Bosphorus, 15 July Martyrs Bridge, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge and Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, will be linked together through the tunnel. The cost of the project will amount to US$3.5 billion. The financing of the construction will be on the build–operate–transfer basis.