Italy’s export agency to finance over $280M extension of Türkiye’s Canakkale Bridge #ItalyFinance

Turkish construction conglomerate Limak Holding has signed a letter of intent with Italy’s export credit agency SACE for a €250 million ($284.23 million) loan with a 10-year maturity to finance the Kinali-Malkara Highway Project.

This major infrastructure initiative will extend the reach of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge—the world’s longest mid-span suspension bridge, featuring a 2,023-meter (6,637 feet) main span and 318-meter-high towers—linking it to Istanbul.

According to business-focused dunya.com, the letter of intent was signed by Limak Chairwoman Ebru Ozdemir during President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s official visit to Rome, where he held talks with Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Known as the longest suspension bridge in the world with its record-breaking main span, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge connects the European and Asian sides of Türkiye across the Dardanelles Strait.

Highway to connect Türkiye’s mega projects each other

Construction on the Kinali-Malkara Highway, which will extend the existing 1915 Canakkale Bridge and the Malkara-Canakkale Motorway all the way to Istanbul, officially began in March.

Once completed, the project is expected to significantly reduce travel times, bringing the Istanbul–Tekirdag journey to under one hour and the Istanbul–Canakkale route to approximately two hours. It will also create an uninterrupted motorway corridor connecting the Osmangazi, Yavuz Sultan Selim, and 1915 Canakkale bridges.

Established in 1976, Limak Holding is one of Türkiye’s leading construction companies and ranks among the world’s top 100 contractors, according to the Engineering News-Record (ENR).