Global law firm Clifford Chance has advised the Turkish and international financiers on the €1.2 billion financing of the Kınalı-Malkara motorway extension project in Türkiye.
The motorway extension represents further investment in one of Türkiye’s key transport corridors and is expected to enhance connectivity between Istanbul and the Marmara and Aegean regions. It builds on the existing operational Malkara-Çanakkale section of the Kınalı-Tekirdaǧ-Çanakkale-Savaştepe motorway – including the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, which has the longest main span of any suspension bridge globally.
The project company is Çanakkale Otoyol ve Köprüsü İnşaat Yatırım ve İşletme A.Ş., and the sponsor is Limak İnşaat Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş.
Financing was provided by Turkish and international financial institutions, with credit support from Korean and European export credit agencies, including K-EXIM, K-SURE, SACE and EKN, as well as ICIEC.
Partners Nicholas Wong, Sait Eryılmaz and Mel Chan led a multi-jurisdictional team across Dubai, Istanbul, Singapore, Tokyo, London, Rome and Munich. The team advised on:
- Overall financing: counsel Başar Kırka, senior associates Marco Wong and Lucy Roberts, alongside partner Hans Menski and associates John Edmunds, Jacie Lim, Berke Avarkan, Aykan Karpuzcu, Melisa Mengü, Alper Eski and trainee Işıl Acar.
- Islamic financing and ICIEC: partner Qudeer Latif, senior associate Ibrahim Hassan and associates Marius Fritz and Philippe Mattoo.
- SACE insurance: counsel Filippo Tassoni and senior associate Giuseppe Chiaula.
- Construction, operation and maintenance arrangements: partner Sandy Hall and counsel Philippe Baert.
- Hedging: partner Timothy Cleary and counsel Gregory Chartier.
The transaction highlights Clifford Chance’s strength in cross-border project finance, export credit agency-backed financing and Islamic finance, as well as its longstanding experience on complex infrastructure projects in Türkiye and across the wider region.
