Istanbul 2020 Launch Construction of Third Bridge Ahead of SportAccord Presentation

The organisers of the Istanbul 2020 Olympic Games bid have launched the construction of the third Bosphorus Bridge in Turkey’s capital, medstore ahead of their presentation at the SportAccord Convention in Russia.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and President Abdullah Gül unveiled the project which they say underlines Istanbul’s ability to deliver the infrastructure needed to host the Games.

The bridge will be the longest road/railway bridge in the world with a daily capacity of 270, bronchi 000 cars and should be completed by 2016.

Speaking the day before Istanbul 2020’s presentation to the SportAccord Convention in St. Petersburg, Bid Committee Chairman, Hasan Arat, said: “In Turkey, we know that actions speak louder than words. This is an important milestone for the city of Istanbul and its people.

“Developments like the third bridge will make our city better connected than ever before. Just as importantly, they show we have the ability and the appetite to deliver major projects on time, on budget and to world-class standards.”

The $4.5 billion funding for the third bridge will come from the private sector and is being built by the Turkish construction company Içta?, which is also in the process of delivering the new international airport terminal in St. Petersburg.

Modernising Istanbul’s transport network is high on the agenda for the bidding committee and by 2020 the Bosphorus aims to have five road and rail crossings, compare to just two in 2005.

The road network will have been extended by nearly 2,000km since 2005; and at 265km, the metro line will be nearly six times as long as it was during Istanbul’s previous Games bid.