Ten groups of international contractors with local partners have applied to prequalify for the $700 million Izmit bay crossing. The applications were returned in mid-August to the State Highways Directorate (KGM - MEED 2:9:94).

They came from:

IBKO: Tekfen with Italy's Impregilo, Germany's Bilfinger & Berger, Spain's Dragados & Construcciones, and France's Campenon Bernard

Izmit Bay Crossing Group: Garanti and Botek with the UK's Balfour Beatty, and Germany's Hochtief

Izmit Korfez Crossing Group: Dogus and Sezai Turkes-Feyzi Akkaya (ST- FA) with France's Spie Batignolles, Italy's Salini Costruttori, Spain's Cubiertas & Mzov and Germany's Dyckerhoff & Widmann

Anglo-Japanese Group: Enka with the UK's Trafalgar House and Marubeni Corporation and Itochu Corporation (both of Japan)

Yuksel with two US consultants, STV and Paine Webber

the local subsidiary of France's Freyssinet with Germany's Wayss & Freytag, the Netherlands' Interbeton, Parsons Brinckerhoff and Kaiser of the US, and Norway's Norconsult

Vinsan with France's Bouygues

Izmit Bay Constructors: Kiska with Atkinson Construction and Sverdrup of the US

Baytur with Italy's GEPC and Salc

Entes and Yapi Uretim with Italy's Astaldi.

Evaluation should be complete by mid-autumn. The build-operate-transfer project calls for the construction of a bridge or combination of bridges about 3.5 kilometres in length across the bay itself as part of a 50-kilometre six-lane motorway from the northern shore of the bay to a point near Bursa. The consultant is Canada's Delcan.