Inauguration du tunnel ferroviaire #Maramaray sous le Bosphore : une « voie ferrée de la soie »…
BUSINESS - Marmaray tunnel paves way for ‘Iron Silk Road’
▻http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/marmaray-tunnel-paves-way-for-iron-silk-road.aspx?pageID=238&nID=
“The Silk Road is in need of being resurrected for the purposes of re-connecting vital trade arteries between Asia and Europe by rail,” he said.
The Marmaray railway tunnel opens today on the 90th anniversary of the Turkish Republic’s founding. Located 62 meters under the Bosphorus Strait, it connects the European and Asian sides of Istanbul for the first time by rail.
The 13.6-kilometer tunnel, including a 1.4-kilometer immersed tube tunnel, is the deepest of its kind in the world at 60 meters.
Construction of the tunnel under the Bosphorus had been scheduled to take four years but was delayed after a series of major archaeological discoveries. Some 40,000 objects were excavated from the site, notably a ship graveyard containing some 30 Byzantine vessels, which is the largest known medieval fleet.
The Marmaray will provide a non-stop railway route connecting China to Western European markets and vice versa as a modern day “Iron Silk Road.”
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Le tunnel a donné lieu à une intense coopération avec le Japon
POLITICS - Marmaray marks warm Turkey-Japan ties : Abe
▻http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/marmaray-marks-warm-turkey-japan-ties-abe.aspx?pageID=238&nID=569
The Japanese have had a great role in almost every stage of the Marmaray tunnel. The contractor of the tunnel is a Japanese-Turkish consortium, TGN, which consists of Japan’s Tansei as well as its Turkish project partners, Nurol and Gama.
A substantial portion of the financing for the project, which is expected to cost around 9.3 billion Turkish Liras ($4.5 billion) after everything is completed, was provided by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).
Although the European Investment Bank (EIB) has allocated funds to the project as well, the lion’s share came from the JBIC.
Abe said his country had spent more than $1.45 billion for the realization of the project since 1999, when the JBIC and Turkey signed a financing agreement.
The 13.6-kilometer tunnel, including a 1.4-kilometer immersed tube tunnel, which is the deepest of its kind in the world at 56 meters, is not the first mega project for which Turkish and Japanese companies have joined forces.
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Un élément important de désenclavement pour l’Azerbaïdjan
Marmaray – tunnel linking Asia with Europe - AzerNews
▻http://www.azernews.az/analysis/61086.html
At a global level, the Marmaray project will provide an alternative route to the Middle East, Central Asia and Far East. First of all, this project will benefit the neighbouring countries among which Azerbaijan will turn into an economic and energy centre over time.
Being the first continuation of the ’Silk Road’ of its kind, Marmaray will have trans-European significance for the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad.
The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad initially designed to link the transport systems of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, can now link Europe with the Caspian region.
That will have positive impact on the development of trade and in general the strengthening of the region’s economy. Central Asian countries, Afghanistan and China are also interested in Baku-Tbilisi-Kars. These countries consider the transport corridor running up to the Black Sea as an alternative route to sea ports.
This means that thanks to the Marmaray tunnel and Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway project, the historical ’Great Silk Road’ will revive which will allow passenger and cargo transportation from Europe to arrive quickly at destinations located in Central Asia and China through Turkey.
Apparemment une cérémonie très asiatique . Seuls les voisins européens immédiats (mais pas la Grèce) seront présents. La symbolique du lien ferré entre l’Europe et l’Asie aurait-elle échappé aux dirigeants européens ? Ou la position de la Turquie vis-à-vis de l’Europe resterait-elle un point aveugle de la géopolitique communautaire ?
Ministers from Azerbaijan, Japan, Afghanistan, Georgia, Bulgaria and Romania will participate at the opening.