Luxembourg, 06/12/2002 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) will be funding the modernisation and extension of roads linking Istanbul in the south of the country with eastern Turkey, to the tune of EUR 225 million. This first large-scale banking operation for road transport in the country is part of the new Euro-Mediterranean Investment Partnership (FEMIP) project created by the EIB in October 2002 that is targeted mainly on the private sector. The two corridors involved are used by local and international traffic from the EU, via the Balkans and Greece with the destination of southern Turkey and the western Black Sea region. The first trunk road is around 134 km long and between Adpazari and Bozüyük on an important north-south axis. The second runs from Ankara to Samsun, the main Turkish town on the Black Sea coast, over a distance of 400 k. The project will clearly improve transport safety and effectiveness and increase capacity. The EIB has indicated that in Turkey roads account for 90% of freight and 95% passenger transport.