Excavation of the drinking-water tunnel with the first domestically manufactured machine has been completed.

Excavation of the Zeytinburnu–Bahçelievler drinking-water line, built with the first domestic and national TBM and carried out by İSKİ, has been completed. Light became visible at the tunnel face during work today. Fatih Turan, İSKİ General Manager, visited the construction site in Bahçelievler and said: “The line is important because we take water from Ömerli Dam on the Asian side and bring it to the European side, along a line that starts in Zeytinburnu and reaches Bahçelievler. This line will be used to distribute water no later than April or May.”

The Zeytinburnu–Bahçelievler drinking-water line was excavated using the first domestic and national TBM. The machine carried out its final excavation today, and light appeared at the tunnel face. Turan inspected the tunnel, where excavation had been completed 34 metres underground, and gave information about the work on the 3,087-metre tunnel. He said it had been excavated with the first domestically manufactured TBM and that the tunnel would begin distributing water in April or May 2019.

“This line will be used to distribute water no later than April–May”

Emphasising the importance of the tunnel and of excavating it with a domestic and national machine, İSKİ General Manager Fatih Turan said: “We are witnessing a historic moment. We are 34 metres below ground in Bahçelievler; our machine has reached the end and completed the tunnel excavation. We started this underground excavation in Zeytinburnu about 500 days ago. Only a few countries in the world manufacture this kind of excavation machine. Türkiye is the eighth country in the world to produce TBMs. The 3,087-metre line is important for this reason: we currently have a line from Zeytinburnu to Bahçelievler, but it is a smaller concrete transmission line that breaks down frequently. The importance of this line is that it takes water from Ömerli Dam on the Asian side, carries it beneath the Bosphorus to the European side, then brings it to Bahçelievler along a line beginning in Zeytinburnu.

“From our reservoir here, we also supply water to districts such as Güngören, Bakırköy and Bahçelievler. We aim to finish before 31 March, but winter conditions mean we still have about three or four months of work. If all goes well, the line will be used for water distribution no later than April–May. The estimated cost of this project is around TRY 42 million.”

“It weighs 320 tonnes and is 87 metres long”

Yavuz Selçuk, general manager of the company that manufactured the machine, said it was important for Türkiye and had significant capabilities. “What makes it the first is that it uses entirely domestic technology. The machine weighs 320 tonnes in total, is 87 metres long and has a diameter of 3,300 millimetres. It is a machine that works in water-bearing ground by applying pressure against the ground. Technically, the greatest factor in its advance is its hydraulic system.”

The first domestic and national TBM to excavate the tunnel was designed with a total weight of 320 tonnes and a length of 87 metres. When the drinking-water tunnel is complete, water from Ömerli Dam will be carried along a line beginning in Zeytinburnu to the districts of Güngören, Bakırköy, Bahçelievler and Bağcılar. The tunnel, whose construction is being carried out by İSKİ, an affiliate of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, cost approximately TRY 42 million.