Turkey opens the first underwater tunnel in the world linking two continents

Marmaray, the first underwater rail tunnel in the world linking Asia and Europe, was opened on Tuesday, on the 90th anniversary of the foundation of Turkish Republic. The opening ceremony was attended by President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek, Transport Minister Binali Yildirim and foreign statesmen including Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Romanian President Victor Ponta. During his speech, President Gul said Marmaray was one of the rare projects in the world and referred to the stable and secure atmosphere in Turkey as a crucial condition allowing the implementation of such projects. Prime Minister Erdogan said the project was a realization of a 153 year dream and added that Marmaray was not only a project of Istanbul and Turkey but one for humanity. The 76.3 km Marmaray project, which took 9 years to complete, cost a total of $5,5 billion.