A view of SK E&C and Daelim Industrial ’s winning of the “Project Financial Deal of the Year” In connection with the Canakkale Bridge in Turkey, the world’s longest suspension bridge, from the Project Financial International. (Photo: SK E&C)

SK E&C and Daelim Industrial’s project to build the Canakkale Bridge in Turkey, the world’s longest suspension bridge, has been selected as the “Project Finance Deal of the Year” by six global financial journals, including the Project Finance International (PFI), the Infrastructure Journal (IJ) Global and the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Finance.

The project has won a combined 11 financial awards in the first six months of this year. The Canakkale Project calls for the construction and operation of the Canakkale Bridge in Turkey. SK E&C and Daelim Industrial have teamed up with Turkish companies, Limak and Yapi Merkezi.

Each of the four companies has a 25 percent equity stake in the 3.1 billion euro (about 4 trillion won) mega project.
Last March, out of the total project cost, 2.3 billion Euro (about 3 trillion won) was successfully raised in a project financing.

Twenty-five financial institutions, including the Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM), the Korea Trade Insurance Corp. (K-sure), Korea Development Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, ING Bank, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Garanti BBVA participated in the project financing.

The signing of a financial contract on the project came one year after the Korean contractors won the project. It was possible thanks to full support by Korean export credit institutions and the Turkish government. KEXIM and K-sure extended a combined 1 billion euros in financial support, which promoted other Korean and foreign commercial banks to follow suit.

If the principal of the project is paid back, the Turkish government promised to guarantee the debt to minimize the risks of the creditor groups.

An official of the consortium of SK E&C and Daelim Industrial said, “It is an honor to win multiple awards from globally renowned financial journals.”

It was possible thanks to the Korean contractors’ collaboration and their project execution capabilities as well as KEXIM and K-sure’s financial support, the official said.

The Canakkale Project calls for constructing, operating and transferring the 3.6 km-long Canakkale Bridge, the world’s longest suspension bridge, and connected roads, reaching 85 km in combined length before it is transferred to the Turkish government.

The total construction and operation period of the public-private partnership project is 16 years and two months.

A bird’s eye view of the projected Canakkale Bridge in Turkey. (Photos: SK E&C)