Eurasia undersea tunnel in Turkey built by Korean technology

Eurasia undersea tunnel in Turkey built by Korean technology. December. 22, 2016 07:08. by Jae-Young Kim redfoot@donga.com. As the world’s first two-level auto tunnel connecting Europe and Asia, the Eurasia Tunnel has been opened by the hands of Korean engineers.

SK E&C announced on Tuesday (local time) that it built a 5.4-kilometer two-level Eurasia undersea tunnel, which penetrates Istanbul to the Bosphorus Straits. The tunnel was completed in 48 months since the groundbreaking ceremony in January 2013. With 1.24 billion dollars (or 1.47 trillion won) injected, the undersea tunnel was implemented as a national project by the Turkish government.

On Tuesday, government officials and business partners from both countries cut the tape in Istanbul, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım, SK E&C CEO Choi Gwang-cheol, Korean Ambassador to Turkey Cho Yoon-soo.

The Eurasia Tunnel was built under a large-scale construction plan, which stretches to a total of 14.6 kilometers, combining the undersea section (5.4 kilometers) and the connected land roads. As the sea depth was as deep as 110 meters with very fragile stratum jumbled with sand and gravels, there were many difficulties in digging the tunnel. Engineers were faced with even trickier responsibilities to protect the ancient relics and remains.

To this end, SK E&C utilized the world’s biggest Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM) with 13.7-meter diameters, 120-meter length, and weighing 3,300 tons. After four years of constant drilling through seven meters by digging up earth and sand worth hundred 25-ton trucks every day, the tunnel has been finally complete.

The new tunnel is expected to significantly reduce the time in passing the Bosphorus Straits, from the current 100 minutes to 15 minutes. Around 120,000 vehicles are expected to pass the new tunnel.

SK E&C will also collect operating margins after the completion of the project, as it will exclusively be in charge of maintenance and facility management. “We will continue to come up with best practices such as the Eurasia Tunnel which shows high profitability,” SK E&C CEO Choi Gwang-cheol said.