Japanese PM in Istanbul to open Marmaray tunnel

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived in Istanbul Monday to participate in the opening ceremony of the Marmaray, an underwater railway tunnel through the Bosphorus Strait that would link the European and Asian sides of the city. Japan financed the USD-three-billion Marmaray project with a USD billion. Ihlas news agency said Abe would hold talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other senior officials on nuclear energy cooperation. Marmaray, one of the world's biggest projects, will ease traffic congestions in Istanbul. The project will be linked with other transport networks like the railway between Istanbul and Ankara, and the metro network within Istanbul. The foundation stone of the 76-km-long tunnel was placed in 2004