The nationalization process for the 37-kilometer-long Northern Marmara Highway, which will link northern provinces of Sakarya and Kocaeli to Thrace, bypassing Istanbul's traffic jam, is about to commence. Land analysis for the route of the mega project, which is the largest build-operate-transfer project of the state after the 421-kilometer-long Istanbul-İzmir highway, will begin to prepare the nationalization map of the related regions. As part of the process, to be undertaken by the General Directorate of Highways, the nationalization costs will be calculated for the lands located around the route of the highway, and points with zoned areas and areas with high costs will be revised.
The General Directorate of Highways will issue a plan to evaluate any problems that may arise during the nationalization process, including current applications executed over related fields and areas with high costs. Zoned areas, development areas and natural resources will be taken into consideration for the route, which will begin in Adapazarı, pass through Kocaeli and Istanbul and connect to Tekirdağ, the northwestern cities of Turkey. Certain routes and crossroads may be revised to keep the nationalization costs to a minimum.
Furthermore, separate works will take place in Asia and Europe. The highway will run for a distance of 250 kilometers in Asia, and about 175 kilometers will cross through privately-registered lands. A total of 45 kilometers of the road crosses through non-residential land, and 17 kilometers cut through zoning areas. In Europe, 120 kilometers of the highway will be nationalized and 90 kilometers of these cross through privately-owned land, while 20 kilometers pass through non-residential areas and 35 kilometers pass through zoning areas.
The nationalization process is expected to take around 700 days. The main aim of the works to be undertaken will be to ensure that the route does not cross through zoning areas and to remove any land with high value from the scope of the project.
Due to the high prices paid in lawsuits filed against the General Directorate of Highways, areas for which municipalities have construction rights in their zoning plans will be excluded from the project.
