Erdogan launched the construction of the Istanbul canal

ANKARA (Agencies): Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has launched the construction of the Istanbul Canal, which will run parallel to the Bosphorus and connect the Black and Marmara Seas.
He took part in the solemn ceremony of the beginning of the laying by pressing the symbolic button and starting the implementation of the project. The broadcast was conducted on Twitter by the Turkish leader. Construction will begin with one of six bridges across the future canal.
“Today we are opening a new page in Turkey’s development, laying the first stone in the construction of the first bridge across the Istanbul Canal, which will be 45 kilometers long and a minimum width of 275 meters and a depth of 21 meters. I wish it to benefit Istanbul, Turkey, and all of us. to the people, “he said.
According to him, the Bosphorus is experiencing the greatest stress among the waterways in the world.
“Today 45 thousand ships a year pass through the Bosphorus. The passage of each large ship carries a risk for the city, they carry different cargo, and in the event of an accident, the city falls under a great threat associated with fires and destruction, including cultural values,” he said Turkish leader.
He added that it is estimated that by 2050 about 78,000 ships will pass through the Bosphorus a year, while 25,000 ships can be safely passed through.
“We are looking at the new project as a project to save the future of Istanbul. We have carried out all the necessary studies, including sounding and environmental impact assessment,” President Tayyip Erdogan added.
He criticized the Turkish opposition, which has a negative attitude towards the construction of the canal.
“Those who are against, say: we were not asked. We asked everyone who is needed. You were against when we were building the third bridge over the Bosphorus and the tunnel under it. nothing of this was built. The caravan is moving, “President Tayyip Erdogan said.
For the first time, Erdogan announced the possibility of creating a canal in 2011, being then Prime Minister of Turkey, he became the main initiator of the construction of a new sea artery bypassing the Bosphorus.
The project, if implemented, will become the largest infrastructure initiative in the history of Turkey and will dramatically reduce the transport load on the Bosphorus.
However, it is controversial and controversial in Turkey both due to economic feasibility and due to possible problems with the Montreux Convention on the status of the Bosphorus and Dardanelles.
The canal – to be built on the Turkish metropolis’ European side – will be around 45 kilometers (28 miles) long, 275 meters (902 feet) wide, and 20.75 m (68 ft.) deep.
The project’s total cost is projected at 75 billion Turkish liras ($8.6 billion) and is expected to be built under public-private cooperation.
At the meeting where Erdogan announced the project, he said it would be financed entirely through national resources.
Following a tender process,
the project is expected to be completed in seven years, with around one-and-half-years preparatory work and five-and-half years of construction.
Six bridges will be built over the canal, transforming Istanbul into a city with two seas.
Cities boasting some 250,000 residences are planned to be built on both sides of the canal.
The mega-project, meant to prevent risks posed by vessels carrying dangerous shipments through the Bosphorus Strait, was approved by the country’s Environment and Urbanization Ministry.