Photo: avrasyatuneli.com
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The number of vehicles passed through İstanbul's Eurasia Tunnel last year was about half of the number guaranteed to the contractors, according to official figures.
The tunnel connecting the Asian and European sides of the city under the Bosphorus Strait was built by a public-private partnership (PPP) and opened to traffic in December 2016.
The number of vehicles passed through the tunnel was below the guaranteed number in four consecutive years, which means the Treasury had to make extra payments to the company operating the tunnel.
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For the last year, the guaranteed number of vehicles was 23,932,650 whereas only 11,740,343 vehicles passed through the tunnel and the Treasury paid 391 million lira (48,7 million USD) to the company for the deficiency, Sözcü newspaper reported, citing a response from the Presidency Communication Center (CİMER) to a question by an opposition lawmaker.
Deniz Yavuzyılmaz, a deputy from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and a member of the parliamentary committee on public enterprises, said, "The Treasury spends millions every year. Bridges, tunnels, highways with a pass guarantee have become black holes."
Many large-scale infrastructure projects have been carried out by PPPs over the past decade, including the İstanbul Airport and the third Bosphorus bridge, while almost none of them were able to meet the guarantees.
About the Eurasia Tunnel
The tunnel was built by a company named ATAŞ, which was formed by the Turkey-based Yapı Merkezi and South-Korea based SKEC companies. It undertook the operations of the tunnel for 24 years and five months.
The passing fee for one vehicle is 4 USD plus VAT according to the agreement.
The tunnel was opened on December 26, 2016, and the number of guaranteed daily passes was 68,000 for 2017. This figure increased by 0.5 percent every year. (HA/VK)
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