A political row between Turkey and France has scuppered the award of a $1bn road tunnel project because French contractors were in both bidding groups.
Plans called for the construction, estimated at between $620M and $1.4bn for a tunnel or bridge link crossing Izmit Bay.
French contractors Campenon Bernard and Transroute International were part of one consortium together with Dogus and Tekfen, both of Turkey, Italy’s Impregilo, Germany’s Bilfinger+Berger and Dragados of Spain.
The second team included Bouygues and Turkey’s Vinsan, but the contest was scrapped by Turkey’s public works and housing ministry. This was after the French parliament voted in January to recognise Armenian claims that Ottoman Turks committed genocide in 1915, claims that Turkey strongly denies.
