Turkey's Minister of Transport, Binali Yıldırım, announced the joint Turkish/Italian İçtaş-Asdaldi consortium as the winners of a tender to build the proposed 1,275-meter-long suspension bridge, which is planned to enter service by 2015.

The bridge will connect the neighbourhood of Garipçe, in the city's Sarıyer district on the European side, with Poyrazköy, in Beykoz on the Asian side, creating a direct link between the Northern Marmara Highway and the Trans-European Motorway.

Istanbul's heavy traffic is expected to be one of the main problems if the city is awarded the Games ahead of rivals Madrid and Tokyo.

The IOC Working Group Report, which evaluated Istanbul's bid, last week picked out transport as one of the potential main problems when recommending that they be put on the shortlist.

"As transport operations would be criticial to the delivery of a successful 2020 Games, the construction progress of key infrastructure would have to be very carefully monitored to ensure reasonable travel times," the Report warned.

The tender commission required the winning venture to guarantee the bridge would be built in the shortest time possible, at the lowest possible cost, meaning it should be completed well before 2020.

"This story proves that Istanbul continues to invest significantly in transport infrastructure," said Hasan Arat, the leader of Istanbul 2020.

"Each new project adds to the city's capacity to host the 2020 Games and this announcement represents the latest milestone on our bid journey. 

"In addition to Government funding, businesses in Turkey have provided a large proportion of the $2.5 billion (£1.6 billion/€2 billion) needed for the project, which highlights Turkey's economic strength throughout both the private and public sectors.

"A third bridge will greatly enhance the Games time comfort and ease of travel for all Olympic and Paralympic client groups."


The European and Asian sides of the city are already linked by the spectacular Bosphorus Bridge (pictured), completed in 1973, and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, named after 15th-century Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, which was finished in 1988.

The third bridge was put forward in the Istanbul 2020 Application File as a way to redirect everyday traffic and improve the flow of Games related traffic around the centre of the city.

"The Istanbul 2020 Application File tabled an ambitious but achievable proposal to the Olympic Movement: to create an iconic setting for the Games, connecting Istanbul's famous landmarks through a plan that showcases the most spectacular features of the historic city," said Arat.

"We were so honoured and so proud when Istanbul was voted through to the candidate city stage of the bid process – today's announcement shows the Olympic Movement that we are serious about delivering on the proposals of the Istanbul 2020 bid."

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