Turkey’s State-of-the-Art Osman Gazi Bridge Opens, to Cut Izmit Bay Crossing Time to Just Six Minutes

Tokyo, July 1, 2016 – IHI Corporation (IHI) announced today that a ceremony was held on June 30 to open the Osman Gazi Bridge across Izmit Bay in western Turkey, which was constructed by affiliate IHI Infrastructure Systems Co., Ltd. (IIS). Pesident Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Bilali Yildrim were among senior Turkish officials at the ceremony. Representatives from Japan included Hiroshi Oka, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan, and Norio Ehara, Consul General of Japan.

The new structure is the world’s fourth-longest suspension bridge and the longest overseas bridge for IHI Group as a contractor. It forms part of a 420-kilometer highway project to link Istanbul, Turkey’s biggest city, with Izmir, the nation’s third-most populous city.

It will take just six minutes to cross Izmit Bay on the new bridge, which runs from the northern to southern coastlines. That compares with road journeys of an hour around the bay or across it by ferry. Once the highway is complete, the drive between Istanbul and Izmir will drop from up to 10 hours currently, to just three-and-a-half hours. Such a reduction should stimulate the regional and national economies.

IHI Group has contributed significantly to Turkey’s road transportation infrastructure development over the years, building the Golden Horn Bridge, the New Golden Horn Bridge, the Second Bosphorus Bridge (Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge) and participating in the Seismic Reinforcement project for 15 long bridges in Istanbul. IHI Group will continue to cultivate its bridge business worldwide, supporting social infrastructural development and economic progress.

ProjectOverview
Customer	：	General Directorate of Highways of Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications
BOT Concessionair	：	Otoyol Yatirim ve Isletme A.S.
Contractor	：	NOMAYG JV
Project name	：	Izmit Bay Crossing Bridge Project
Project scope	：	EPC of suspension bridge
Total Length of Suspension Bridge	：	2,682m
Tower Height	：	252m
Main Span Length	：	1,550m (world’s fourth-longest suspension bridge)
Bridge Width	：	35.93m

Reference 1: Location of Osman Gazi Bridge

Reference 2: Panorama of Osman Gazi Bridge

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