OPEC Fund approves record $250M loan for Istanbul North Rail Crossing
- Project to boost annual Bosphorus rail freight capacity from 3M tons to 50M tons, strengthening key global trade corridors
By Mucahithan Avcioglu
ISTANBUL (AA) - The OPEC Fund for International Development has approved a $250 million loan for the Istanbul North Rail Crossing project, marking the largest single financing commitment in the institution’s history.
According to a fund statement, the loan is part of a broader approved package of up to $500 million to build a new railway bypassing the Istanbul metropolitan area.
The 127-kilometer (79-mile) double-track, electrified line will run between Cayirova on the Asian side and Catalca on the European side, crossing the Bosphorus via the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge.
Carrying both passengers and cargo, the link addresses a critical bottleneck in Asia-Europe rail traffic. Currently, freight trains only use the Marmaray tunnel during limited nighttime hours, restricting annual capacity to 3 million tons.
The new line will expand this to 50 million tons, cutting freight journey times between Cayirova and Catalca from 13 hours to 3.6 hours.
It will also link Istanbul Airport and Sabiha Gokcen Airport to the national rail network, reducing inter-airport transit time from two hours to 65 minutes.
- Strengthening global trade corridors
The railway provides an integral missing link for three international rail-served trade corridors crossing Istanbul: the Trans-Caspian Middle Corridor linking China and Central Asia with Europe; the Iraq Development Road connecting Asia and the EU via the Middle East and Türkiye; and the Türkiye-EU corridor, which accounts for a third of Türkiye’s international trade.
Shifting freight from road to lower-carbon electrified rail will ease congestion and strengthen Türkiye’s position as a logistics hub linking Europe, Asia, and the Middle East.
The $8.3 billion project is backed by the Turkish government and a World Bank-led consortium including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and European Investment Bank (EIB).
"Türkiye has been an important partner of the OPEC Fund for nearly five decades," said OPEC Fund President Abdulhamid Alkhalifa, noting the record financing supports infrastructure that boosts connectivity and sustainable growth.
Since 1979, the OPEC Fund has approved nearly $850 million for Turkish projects across transport, agriculture, health, and energy.
Mücahithan Avcıoğlu