Turkey holds first tender related to Kanal Istanbul project

Turkey held its first tender on March 26 for Kanal Istanbul, a mega-infrastructure project involving the construction of a 45-kilometer shipping canal in Istanbul parallel to the Bosphorus Strait, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The tender was for the planning phase of reconstructing two historic bridges located in the area where the 45-kilometer Kanal Istanbul, championed by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is expected to run.

The canal will connect the Black Sea north of Istanbul with the Marmara Sea to the south and is estimated to cost 75 billion Turkish Liras ($11.6 billion). The government says it will ease shipping traffic on the Bosphorus Strait and prevent accidents there.
Five companies on March 26 bid for the planning of the reconstruction of the historic Odabaşı and Dursunköy bridge, according to Anadolu Agency.

The valid bids ranged from 408,000 lira ($63,500) to 550,000 lira.