Erdogan opens world's longest suspension bridge, linking Europe and Asia

Big infrastructure projects a key feature of his presidency

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan poses for photos in front of the 1915 Canakkale Bridge, in Çanakkale, western Turkey, Friday, March 18, 2022. The bridge links the Asian side of Turkey with EuShow more

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday opened a giant suspension bridge across Turkey's Dardanelles Strait.

The 1915 Canakkale Bridge is now the longest suspension bridge in the world.

Its 2,023-metre length of its midspan is an allusion to the Turkish Republic's 100th anniversary in 2023.

Its towers are 318 metres high and the total length of the bridge is 4.6km (2.9 miles) including the approach viaducts.

It is the fourth bridge in Turkey linking Europe and Asia.

Until recently, vehicles travelling between Anatolia and the Gallipoli peninsula had to cross the Dardanelles in a one-hour ferry journey, which including as much as five hours of waiting time.

The journey now will take about six minutes.

“These works will continue to provide profit for the state for many years,” Mr Erdogan said at an opening ceremony on the anniversary of a 1915 Ottoman naval victory against French and British forces in the Dardanelles during First World War.

The bridge takes the title of the world's longest suspension bridge from the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge in Japan, which has a 1,992-metre span.

Connecting Turkey's European and Asian shores, the 1915 Canakkale Bridge was built by Turkish and South Korean firms with an investment of 2.5 billion euros ($2.8 billion).

Mr Erdogan said the price for passenger vehicles to use the bridge would be 200 lira ($13.50).

Work on the bridge project was launched in March 2017, with more than 5,000 workers involved in the construction.

Ahead of national elections scheduled for 2023, opinion polls have shown a slide in the popularity of Mr Erdogan and his political party AKP, boosting the opposition's prospects of ousting him.