Clifford Chance has acted as international legal counsel to the lenders in respect of the financing of the design, construction, operation, maintenance and repair of the Kinali-Odayeri and Kurtkoy-Akyazi sections (including access roads) of the Northern Marmara Motorway procured by the General Directorate of Highways of Turkey under the build-operate-transfer model.

Connecting the Third Bosphorus Bridge, Gebze-Izmir Motorway (Osmangazi Bridge) and the 1915 Canakkale Bridge & Motorway, the project will form a significant transportation link in Turkey's largest city, Istanbul and provide a shorter and faster route inside and outside Istanbul by linking strategic hubs in the Marmara region.

The motorway will stretch over more than 270 kilometres with Kinali-Odayeri section running approximately 90 kilometres on the European side and Kurtkoy-Akyazi section running approximately 180 kilometres on the Asian side. Each section is further split into three sub-sections, Kinali-Yassioren, Yassioren-Odayeri, Habipler-Hasdal on the European side and Kurtkoy-Dilovasi, Dilovasi-Izmit and Izmit-Akyazi on the Asian side.

The project is being sponsored by key market players in the construction sector in Turkey, Cengiz Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Limak Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Kolin Insaat Turizm Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Kalyon Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., RSY Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S., Pak Yatirim Insaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S..

The financing was arranged by offshore branches of leading Turkish banks, Turkiye Garanti Bankasi A.S., Turkiye Is Bankasi A.S., QNB Finansbank A.S., T.C. Ziraat Bankasi A.S., Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. and Turkiye Vakiflar Bankasi T.A.O. with a total loan amount of USD 2.674 billion - USD 1.634 billion allocated to Kurtkoy-Akyazi section and USD 1.040 allocated to Kinali-Odayeri section.

The project is unique in being the first of its kind under new debt assumption legislation that includes risk sharing arrangements between the sponsors, financiers and the Undersecreteriat of Treasury of Turkey.

Clifford Chance's team was co-led by Singapore based partner Nicholas Wong and Istanbul based partner Jared Grubb. Key members of the cross-border team include London based partner David Metzger who provided construction related legal advice, assisted by senior associate Warwick Lindsay (Singapore) and associate Tom Ward (London).