TURKEY: Izmit bridge crossing shortlist announced

24 March 1995
NEWS

A short-list of six consortia of local and foreign companies for the $1,000 million Izmit bridge crossing has been announced by the State Highways Directorate (TCK). The scheme is to be carried out on a build-operate- transfer (BOT) basis (MEED 21:10:94; 23:9:94).

The six consortia of foreign with local companies are:

Anglo-Japanese-Turkish Consortium:

Japan's Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI), Itochu Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, NKK Corporation, the UK's Trafalgar House, and the local Enka

IBKO Consortium:

Italy's Impregilo, France's Campenon Bernard and Transroute International, Germany's Bilfinger & Berger, Spain's Dragados & Construcciones, and Tekfen

Izmit Korfezi Gecisi & Otoyolu:

Germany's Dyckerhoff & Widmann, France's Spie Batignolles, Spain's Cubiertas & Mzov, Italy's Salini Construttori, and Sezai Turkes-Feyzi Akkaya (ST- FA) and Dogus

Izmit Bay Crossing Consortium:

Germany's Hochtief, the UK's Balfour Beatty, and Garanti-Koza and Botek

Izmit Bay Crossing Group:

The Netherlands' Interbeton, Germany's Wayss & Freytag, the US' Parsons Brinckerhoff International and ICF Kaiser Engineers, Norway's Norconsult, France's Freyssinet International with its local affiliate, Freyssinet Yapi Sistem, and Yapi Merkezi

Bouygues Vinsan:

France's Bouygues with the local Vinsan

The route for the crossing starts at Dilovasi on the northern shore of Izmit Bay, and runs for a total length of about 50 kilometres to Orhangazi near Bursa. The motorway will have two carriageways with three lanes each. Across the bay itself, it will include a bridge, or combination of bridges, with a total length of 3.5 kilometres.

Specialised construction techniques will be required because the bay has a maximum depth of around 63 metres, and is in an earthquake belt. Other construction constraints include dense industrial development along the northern shore of the bay and considerable shipping on the bay. To allow for the passage of the latter, a centre span of at least around 450 metres is required for the bridge itself. Consultant to TCK is Canada's Delcan with the local DAP.

Industry sources say the bridge will be the attraction drawing financing for the project, although funding the motorways may prove more problematic. Another financing hurdle for contractors and their bankers may be obtaining satisfactory guarantees of traffic flows, from which revenues will be generated during the operations phase of the eventual BOT contract. However, according to current legislation, the operating period could be as long as 49 years, add the sources.

The Izmit crossing is the largest of two major bridge projects currently being tendered by TCK. Local firms were recently invited to link up with foreign partners in the bidding for a $350 million suspension bridge across the Dardanelles straits at Cannakale.

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