Türkiye has reached a preliminary agreement to secure $6.75 billion in financing for the long-awaited railway project that will cross over the Bosporus, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced on Tuesday.
The deal has been agreed with six international financial institutions, including the World Bank, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
"The strong interest shown by international financial institutions is the clearest indication of confidence in Türkiye's railway vision," Uraloğlu said in a statement, stressing that the link will be the country's "largest externally financed rail project."
Uraloğlu said they aim to complete the tender process within this year, hand over the site and commence the work.
Known as the Northern Railway Crossing Project, it will create a new high-capacity rail line to strengthen freight and passenger connections between Asia and Europe.
The double-track electrified line stretching roughly 126 kilometers (78.29 miles) is aimed at easing congestion in Istanbul, linking the city's two airports to the national rail network, and strengthening Türkiye's role in transcontinental logistics.
The project will cover the Gebze-Sabiha Gökçen Airport-Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge-Istanbul Airport-Halkalı corridor. It will connect Çayırova to Sabiha Gökçen Airport on Istanbul's Asian side and extend to Istanbul Airport and Çatalca on the European side via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. From Çatalca, it will integrate with the Halkalı-Çerkezköy High-Speed Train Line currently under construction.
'New era in logistics'
Uraloğlu said the project will ease passenger and freight traffic on the Marmaray line while directly connecting Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gökçen Airport by rail for the first time.
Marmaray is the world's first underwater rail link between two continents. Opened in 2013, it carries subway commuters and serves freight trains.
The Yavuz Sultan Selim suspension bridge is one of the longest and widest of its kind in the world. It is also known as the third bridge to span the Bosporus, built for about $3 billion and opened in late August 2016.
Two other bridges connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides are the July 15 Martyrs Bridge, formerly the Bosporus Bridge, and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, opened in 1973 and 1988, respectively.
The new rail line is said to include 44 tunnels with a total length of 59.1 kilometers and 42 bridges spanning 22.4 kilometers.
Uraloğlu said the project will significantly increase Türkiye's rail transport capacity between Asia and Europe.
Upon completion, the line is expected to carry 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of freight annually, marking what Uraloğlu described as the start of "a new era in logistics."