Construction Of 2Nd Stage Of Marmaray Slows To A Halt

Construction on the ground-level sections of İstanbul's Marmaray line, which links the city's Asian and European sides via an undersea commuter train line, has almost ground to a halt due to increased costs.

The first stage of the Marmaray project, which currently serves five stations linking the two sides of the city, was opened in a ceremony on Oct. 29 of last year, marking the 90th anniversary of the foundation of the Turkish Republic. The second stage of the project, which includes suburban train lines on routes from Sirkeci to Halkalı on the European side and from Haydarpaşa to Gebze on the Asian side, was planned for completion in June 2015. Nevertheless, the contractor has reduced the speed of work on the second stage, citing an increase in the cost of construction.

The Spanish joint venture between Dimetronic and Obrascon Huarte Lain (OHL) won the second tender for the Marmaray project in 2011 after a consortium that had won the first tender canceled the contract because of increasing costs. However, the bid price also increased by 179 million euro in the second tender.

Following media reports on the issue, the Ministry of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications issued a statement on Thursday noting that the suspension of the project is a temporary measure. According to a report released on Friday in the Hürriyet daily, a source from the ministry said it will not pay anything extra to the contractor, even though the work is about to come to a halt. Admitting that the company has slowed its work, this will be accelerated after negotiations between the company and the ministry, according to the source.

Although the planned completion date of the Marmaray project was set for December 2009, its construction has repeatedly been delayed due to archaeological finds at the Yenikapı terminal.

The Marmaray project includes an upgrade of 63 kilometers of suburban train lines to create a 76.3-kilometer line between Gebze, a town east of İstanbul, and Halkalı, a neighborhood to the west of İstanbul, in addition to the 13.6-kilometer line that is currently in service.

The Marmaray rail tunnel is the world's first underwater rail link to connect two continents. Sirkeci and Üsküdar are the two stations linking the Asian and European sides via a 1,400-meter tube underneath the Bosporus.

(Cihan/Today's Zaman)