The World Bank has approved a $2 billion (€1.7 billion) loan to Türkiye for a new railway line across the Bosporus, the country’s Finance Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
If completed, the new line will become Türkiye’s largest foreign-financed railway project.
The loan forms part of a wider $6.75 billion (€5.2 billion) financing package backed by several global lenders, including the Asian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the OPEC Fund for International Development.
“The approval of this $2 billion loan marks a coordinated effort by six multilateral development banks to provide $6.75 billion in financing for the Istanbul North Rail Crossing Project,” the World Bank said in a statement this week.
According to previous statements by Türkiye’s Transport Ministry, the Istanbul North Rail Crossing Project (INRAIL) will run through northern Istanbul, near the Black Sea entrance of the Bosporus.
It will include 125 kilometres of high-capacity, electrified railway, as well as 44 tunnels and 42 bridges, officials said.
The INRAIL project aims to connect Gebze, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, Istanbul Airport and Halkalı, creating a continuous transport corridor across northern Istanbul.
By using the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge, the new line will bypass the city centre, easing a long-standing bottleneck and enabling uninterrupted rail traffic between Europe and Asia.
According to the World Bank, INRAIL is expected to increase cross-Bosporus rail freight capacity from 3 million to 50 million tonnes annually, improving travel times, reliability and predictability for freight operators.
The project will also “increase freight and passenger rail capacity … and improve the reliability of critical national and intercontinental transport corridors, including the Trans-Caspian, Türkiye-EU, and Iraq Development Road corridors,” the Bank added.
U.S. President Donald Trump says Washington is “semi-negotiating” with Iran as uncertainty surrounds efforts to ease regional tensions....
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 10th of August, covering the latest developments....
A gunman was arrested after opening fire at a local government office near Bangkok on Monday, days after a deadly school shooting renewed debate over ...
An agreement between Iran and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is expected "soon," a U.S. official has said. The deal would result in the resumption of commercial shipping through the sea passage and the lifting of an American naval blockade on Iranian ports.
A deal on a new route for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz is "very close," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, while warning that the reopening of the waterway depends on the U.S. meeting other conditions, including paying compensation to Iran.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 9th of August, covering the latest developments.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine is increasingly penetrating Russia's air-defence network, as both sides stepped up overnight strikes on energy, logistics and port infrastructure.
Typhoon Dolphin lashed Japan’s southern Okinawa prefecture on Saturday, injuring six people, disrupting flights and leaving more than 50,000 buildings without power, as China shut ports and suspended transport services ahead of the storm’s expected arrival on its east coast.
Kyrgyzstan is facing fuel supply challenges after shipments of petroleum products from Russia and Belarus fell sharply in July, pushing prices higher and forcing the country to look for alternative suppliers.
Iran is moving to ratify a long-delayed agreement governing the Caspian Sea, as Tehran seeks closer economic cooperation with neighbouring states while facing heightened security concerns and mounting pressure on its economy.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that soaring fertiliser prices could threaten Afghanistan’s 2027 wheat harvest despite favourable growing conditions, appealing for $38.3 million to support farmers before planting.
Kazakhstan has released an Amur tiger into the wild for the first time in more than 70 years, marking the beginning of a long-term effort to restore the species to its historic range in Central Asia.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan remarked upon progress made towards normalising relations between Baku and Yerevan in a phone call on the first anniversary of the Washington peace summit.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment