Gebze-Orhangazi-Izmir Motorway Project is the first motorway project tendered under the Build-Operate- Transfer model in Turkey. In 2009, the project was tendered and the implementation contract for the construction, maintenance and operation of the 426 km motorway connecting Istanbul to Izmir for 22 years and 4 months was signed between the General Directorate of Highways and the Appointed Company, Otoyol Yatırım ve İşletme A.Ş. on 27 September 2010.

The project, the construction of which started at the end of 2010, was opened to traffic in August 2019 with the completion of the Bursa-İzmir section.

Project Timeline

28 October 2010 - Groundbreaking ceremony

15 March 2013 - Entry into force of the implementation contract

1 July 2016 - Phase-I (between Gebze and Gemlik Junctions including Osmangazi Bridge) commissioning

12 March 2017 - Phase-IIA (between Gemlik and Bursa) commissioning

4 August 2019 - Completion of all sections of Phase-IIB (Bursa to Izmir)

5 August 2019 - Opening of the motorway for uninterrupted use

Project Financing

The Project financing of 1.4 billion USD for Phase-I, 600 million USD Phase-IIA and 3 billion USD for Phase-IIB was completed on March 15, 2013, July 25, 2014 and June 05, 2015, respectively.

Out of the 7.2 billion USD Total Investment Cost (excluding financing expense during operation), the project was funded by a 5 billion USD project finance loan and 2.2 billion USD equity contribution (1.4 billion USD from funds directly injected by Shareholders and 800 million USD from early operational revenue). As of December 2023, a total of 2.188 billion USD principal has been repaid to Lenders.

Project Route

Starting with the Muallimköy junction on the Anatolian Motorway, the motorway crosses the Gulf of Izmit with the 2,907-meter-long Osmangazi Bridge, one of the largest suspension bridges in the world, and connects to the Bursa Ring Road via Orhangazi and Gemlik with Çağlayan Junction.

Using the Bursa Ring Road until Bursa West Junction, the Motorway turns southwest from Karacabey, reaching Savaştepe through Susurluk and the north of Balıkesir. Subsequently, it passes around the districts of Soma, Akhisar, Saruhanlı, Turgutlu, and finally ends at the İzmir Karasuluk Junction.

Gebze-Izmir Motorway in Numbers

The project has a total length of 426 km, including 384 km motorway and 42 km connection road. Along the route, including the North/South Approach Viaducts, there are 38 viaducts with a total length of 21.571 m, 3 tunnels with a total length of 6.445 m, 179 bridges, 20 toll plazas, 22 interchanges, 4 Motorway and 2 Tunnel Maintenance-Operation Centres and 33 Motorway Service Facilities including 25 fuel stations.

Operation and Maintenance Activities

The motorway is continuously monitored through designed electronic, mechanical, and digital systems, centrally managed from the Bursa Main Control Center, and operated by an uninterrupted service approach. Within this scope, maintenance and management of structures in the project, traffic safety, road maintenance, toll collection systems, and services provided to motorway users are regularly maintained.

Since its opening, the number of cars-equivalent vehicles crossing the Osmangazi Bridge has exceeded 82 million, and while the daily average of equivalent vehicles crossing the bridge was 12,200 in 2016 when it was opened to traffic, increased to an average of 57,500 equivalent vehicles per day in 2023.

In order to ensure the safety of traffic, the condition of the signs directing and regulating the traffic flow is monitored and maintenance programmes are carried out, and the motorway route is constantly monitored by traffic and maintenance team patrol vehicles. In addition, in order to monitor the traffic, a fixed and mobile camera system and 24/7 supervision are carried out at the control centre via fibre infrastructure. As a result of the activities carried out, the average number of accidents per 100 million km of motorways across the country was 18.07, while it was 9.40 (half of Turkey's average) on the Gebze- İzmir motorway.

The intervention time for incidents on access-controlled highways and motorways has been set at 1 hour according to the Highway Standards. On our motorway, the response time to traffic accidents has been elevated above the standards, with 90% of interventions being carried out within 30 minutes or less. Motorway cameras, fixed and vehicle-mounted mobile weather stations established on the motorway allow for the centralized monitoring of variable weather, road, and traffic conditions. The data obtained is instantly shared with drivers through variable messages and traffic signs that concern them.

A toll collection system capable of automatic toll collection has been installed in 20 toll booth areas in the project, and collection processes are carried out by taking into account all kinds of conditions.

Customer service units established for emergency calls for assistance and other customer claims are used to provide solutions to verbal and written requests, suggestions, and demands.

In addition, 33 service facilities under the "Oksijen" brand on the route are carefully designed according to the needs of motorway users and continue their operations. The total area of the facilities is 2 million 76 thousand square metres, 75 thousand 400 square metres of which is covered.

Through the Mobile Application, it is ensured that the traffic situation on the motorway, large-scale maintenance and repair activities, the brands and locations of the brands within the facility, especially fuel/charging stations and HGS top-up points at the Motorway Service Facilities, the determination of the fee to be paid, and the automatic receipt of notifications regarding the violated (non-payment) passes of the registered vehicles in case of plate registration to the application.