Construction on the 1,875-metre bridge is due to begin on May 29 - the 550th anniversary of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said in 1995 - during his four-year term as Mayor of Istanbu l- that the construction of a third bridge "would mean the murder of the city", but performed a dramatic U-turn, claiming that the 4.5bn Turkish lira (£1.6 billion/€1.9 billion/$2.5 billion) project would go ahead, regardless of whether investment was acquired.

"There is demand for a third bridge, and nobody will be left on the road." claimed Erdogan in 2012.

"In the worst case, we will build the bridge using the national budget.

"We can afford it."

The planned third bridge crossing the Bosphorus will be dubbed "Olympiad" should Istanbul's bid to host the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics be successful

Designed by Frenchman Michel Virlogeux, the bridge will become the world's longest combined rail and road bridge, as well as being among the top 10 longest suspension bridges in the world.

It will connect the village of Garipçe in the Sarıyer district on the European side with the Poyrazköy neighborhood in Beykoz on the Asian side, and be a part of the projected 260 kilometre (160 mile) long "Northern Marmara Motorway" project.

The fate of Istanbul's bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games - which appropriately operates under the slogan "Bridge Together"- will be revealed in Buenos Aires on September 7 this year, where they will face rivals Madrid and Tokyo.

The bridge is due to be completed in 2015.

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