Bursa municipality has begun final negotiations with the lowest bidder for the first phase of the city's metro project. A consortium of the local Guris, Italy's Ansaldo and Breda Costruzioni Ferroviarie, and France's Sofretu bid $312 million for the scheme in December (MEED 7:1:94). A decision on an award is expected soon, contractors say.

The group's bid was far lower than that of the next bidder, a consortium of locals Bayindir and Yuksel with Germany's Siemens. Its financial adviser for credit financing is the UK's Hill Samuel & Company.

The 14.5-kilometre first phase of the metro will run from the city's organised industrial zone via a central inter-city bus terminal at Sirameseler to the Sehrekustu district. It will have 14 stops and three large stations, to be served by 24 trains with three carriages each. Work will take about 27 months. The metro masterplan calls for the construction of five stages over 20 years.