Transport and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu has confirmed that the tender for the ambitious $6.75 billion Northern Ring Railway Project, which aims to connect Istanbul’s two main airports, is scheduled for Oct. 14.
Operating 24 hours a day, the line will carry 33 million passengers and 30 million tons of freight annually, Uraloğlu said. The route begins at the Marmaray line’s Çayırova section, passing through Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Istanbul Airport before connecting to Çatalca.
A tender notice published in the Official Gazette includes a 122.3-kilometer double main line, 4.7 kilometers of single-line connections and stations. Construction involves five double-tube tunnels spanning 36.2 kilometers, 22 double-line tunnels over 23.3 kilometers, 17 cut-and-cover tunnels stretching 3.7 kilometers, two viaducts covering 22.1 kilometers and 40 bridges.
Six international financial institutions reached a preliminary agreement to provide $6.75 billion for the Northern Perimeter Railway Project, making it Türkiye’s largest foreign-funded railway project, Uraloğlu said. The line covering the Gebze, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Istanbul Airport and Çatalca route will increase capacity in rail transport between Asia and Europe, starting a new era in logistics, he said.
Separately, Uraloğlu attended the opening ceremony for the Yalova-Armutlu road in the northwestern province of Yalova. The project cuts travel time from one hour to 30 minutes, saving 240 million Turkish Liras from time and 20 million liras from fuel for a total of 260 million liras annually, he said. It reduces carbon emissions by 900 tons a year, contributing to climate-friendly transportation, the minister said.
