ISTANBUL – President Tayyip Erdogan on Friday opened a massive suspension bridge across Turkey’s Dardanelles, the latest in a series of major infrastructure projects he has prioritized in his two decades in office.
The Canakkale Bridge, which connects the European and Asian coasts of Turkey, was built in 1915 by Turkish and South Korean firms with an investment of 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion). It has the longest main span – the distance between the two towers – of any suspension bridge in the world.
Such mega-projects have been central to Erdogan’s achievements since his AKP party first came to power in 2002, including Istanbul’s new airport, rail and road tunnels under the Istanbul Bosphorus and a bridge across it.
“These works will continue to bring profit to the state for many years to come,” Erdogan said at the opening ceremony marking the anniversary of the Ottoman navy’s 1915 victory over French and British forces in the Dardanelles during World War I.
“These projects are of great importance in order to bring our country ahead in investment, labor and exports,” he said.
Last year, he launched what he previously called his “crazy project”: the construction of a $15 billion canal in Istanbul designed to ease pressure on the busy Bosphorus. However, critics have questioned the viability of the project, given Turkey’s economic problems, environmental risks, and public opposition.
Expensive enterprise
The Turkish Air Force aerobatic team performs at the opening of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge.
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Ahead of nationwide elections scheduled for 2023, opinion polls showed a decline in the popularity of Erdogan and his AKP, raising the opposition’s chances of overthrowing him.
The main opposition CHP has criticized the bridge’s potential cost to the state budget, and media reports say the Build-Operate-Transfer agreement includes an annual guarantee of payments to operators of 380 million euros ($420 million), or a total of 6 billion euros. during the term of the agreement.
Erdogan said the price for passing the bridge for passenger cars would be 200 lira ($13.50).
Work on the Dardanelles bridge project began in March 2017, with over 5,000 workers involved in the construction.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened the bridge, which is part of a series of major infrastructure projects.
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Its average span length of 2023 meters (1.25 miles) is a nod to the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey in 2023.
This is the fourth bridge connecting the European and Asian coasts of Turkey, along with three bridges built in Istanbul.
Its towers are 318 meters (347.8 yd) high, and the total length of the bridge is 4.6 km (2.9 mi), including access viaducts.
Until now, vehicles traveling between Anatolia and the Gallipoli peninsula had to cross the Dardanelles in one hour by ferry, which, including the waiting time, was as much as five hours. Now the journey will take about six minutes.
Featured Image Credit: Sergen Sezgin/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images