Erdogan opens Ovit Tunnel

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday attended the ceremony for laying the foundation of the Ovit-Ispir tunnel in northeast Anatolia. Speaking at the ceremony, Erdogan said, "This is not an ordinary project. The Ovit Tunnel constitutes the most critical passage of an important transportation route aimed at connecting northern Caucasia to the East and Southeast, as well as Central Asia and Iran." Stating that the project is important both strategically and in terms of construction, Erdogan said that the project would be completed in three and a half years and cost 800 million Turkish liras.  Erdogan added that the Ovit Tunnel to become the largest tunnel in Turkey and the third longest one in the world would be an important work in terms of showing the engineering and contracting power of Turkey.