Turkey is building a massive 3-layer tunnel underwater that connects Asia to Europe

The Turkish government has announced plans to build a giant, three-story tunnel underwater that connects Istanbul on the Asian and European sides of the Bosphorus.

The tunnel, measuring 6.5 kilometres long, would sit 110 metres below the sea level. It's already been called a "crazy project" by the local newspaper Hurryet. But we think it looks pretty cool.

This GIF shows you where the tunnel is going to be built:

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Haberler/Youtube

The project was announced by Prime Minister Ahmet Davotoglu today, who described the infrastructure as "a harbinger of the new Turkey," according to the Lebanese paper The Daily Star.

The tunnel will feature both a highway for cars and a railway. One highway lane will be at the top of the tunnel, the rail line will occupy the middle layer, and the other lane of the highway will be at the bottom.

This GIF might give you an idea:

Haberler/Youtube

The project is expected to cost about $3.5 billion (£2.3 billion), but the transport minister Lutfi Elvan said that the state will not spend "a single penny," saying Turkey will look for private investors to finance the works.

The announcement of the partner should come shortly after the general elections on July 7, according to World Bulletin, and if everything goes to plan, the tunnel should be ready by 2020.

The upcoming elections play a key role in the development of the project, according to Alex Christie-Miller, a Istanbul-based journalist who writes for Newsweek and The Times. "Certainly, the economic climate in Turkey for these kinds of ambitious mega projects is souring," he told Business Insider.

"The problem is that it's very hard to secure foreign financing for these projects, and the government is struggling to find enough domestic private financing. In this context, it's very possible this tunnel will never become a reality, although people said the same of other large infrastructures and, despite financing issues, work and planning is going on."

Here are a few more images of the tunnel:

Turkish ministry of trasnportation

Haberler/Youtube