On June 9, 2026, an approval document from the Asian Development Bank brought a sigh of relief to Istanbul's transportation planners. A loan of 645.8 million euros, approximately 750 million US dollars, has officially landed to support the construction of the Istanbul Northern Railway Cross Sea Passage project. This 127 kilometer electrified railway will bypass the core urban area of Istanbul and cross the Bosphorus Strait in the north, reconnecting Europe and Asia with steel rails.

127 kilometers of railway crossing the strait

The total investment for the Istanbul Northern Railway Cross Sea Passage project is expected to be approximately 8.27 billion US dollars, and a new 127 kilometer electrified railway will be built.

The project will bypass the core urban area of Istanbul and construct a high-capacity railway connection line across the Istanbul Strait in the north. It will also connect Istanbul Airport and Sabihakgqin Airport to the national railway network, further strengthening regional connectivity. This project is one of the key projects of Türkiye's twelfth development plan and overall transportation and logistics plan, aiming to increase the share of railway transportation, strengthen the resilience of the national logistics system and regional connectivity.

Multiple international organizations jointly financed

This project is jointly financed and implemented by the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank under a fully mutual aid framework. This $750 million loan is the first loan provided by the Asian Development Bank for the project, and the second loan of the same scale is expected to be submitted for review in 2028.

In March 2026, the World Bank approved $2 billion in financing support for the project. In addition to the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank, international financial institutions such as the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Islamic Development Bank, and the OPEC Fund for International Development also plan to participate in project financing. The joint participation of multiple international financial institutions in financing will help improve project implementation efficiency and development benefits.

The project has entered the bidding preparation stage

With the gradual implementation of the financing plan, the project has initiated relevant consulting service bidding, and the infrastructure engineering and electrification design and construction are in the bidding preparation stage. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, cross sea railway

The Director General of the Central and Western Asia Region of the Asian Development Bank said that the project is the flagship project of Türkiye's railway infrastructure construction, which will provide a faster, higher transport capacity and more reliable railway channel for cargo transportation between Asia and Europe, and further consolidate Türkiye's important position as a transportation bridge of Eurasia.Editor/Gao Xue