Turkey has reached a preliminary agreement with international lenders, including the World Bank, to provide financing worth $6.75 billion for one of the largest-ever railway projects in the country, according to Bloomberg.
The Turkish Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure stated on Tuesday that the new 125-kilometer Northern Circular Railway project will transport passengers and goods between the Halkali area on the European side of Istanbul and the industrial zone in Gebze on the Asian side of the city.
The ministry added that the line will cross the Bosphorus Strait via the Sultan Yavuz Selim Bridge.
Bloomberg reported that the route will link the city's two main airports and will help alleviate freight and passenger movement on existing high-speed train lines, adding that it will be the largest externally financed railway project in Turkish history.
The Funders
The preliminary agreement includes the World Bank, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
The announcement did not include the terms of the financing agreement.
Turkey held talks in 2023 with the UAE to finance the project, but the two sides did not reach an agreement before Ankara later approached the World Bank, according to Bloomberg.
The ministry's statement quoted Minister Abdul Qadir Oraloglu as saying that the government hopes to tender the project and begin construction later this year.
He added that the project will require the construction of 44 tunnels and 42 bridges.
