December 20, 2012
The construction of the Istanbul-Izmir motorway in Turkey is set to be delayed by at least 18 months due to insufficient funds being in place to complete the major new highway. Turkey's Transport and Communication Minister Binali Yildirim has warned the Nurol-Özaltn-Makyol-Astaldi-Yüksel-Göçay joint venture, who are responsible for the construction of the motorway, that it will be in breach of the project’s contract, signed in October 2010, imposing a strict completion deadline of five-and-a-half years.