Turkish PM’s crazy project: "Canal Istanbul"

Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, has unveiled his long-awaited "crazy project", saying, "we will build a new waterway in Istanbul" to link the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara that opens to the Aegean Sea.

Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the Prime Minister of Turkey, has unveiled his long-awaited "crazy project", saying, "we will build a new waterway in Istanbul" to link the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara that opens to the Aegean Sea.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has unveiled his long-awaited "crazy project", saying, "we will build a new waterway in Istanbul" to link the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara that opens to the Aegean Sea.

Erdogan's project "Canal Istanbul" will be built in the west of Istanbul. It will be a 45-50 km-long waterway with a depth of 25 meters and a width of 150 meters.

The new canal will reduce vessel traffic on Istanbul Strait, world's busiest waterway which helps carry 139 million tons of oil, 4 million tons of liquefied petroleum gas and 3 million tons of chemicals through the Bosphorus annually.

Istanbul's cultural heritage and 2 million people are at risk due to hazardous materials transported through the Istanbul Strait, Erdogan recalled, adding that the project would help keep Istanbul safe from such threat.

"Turkey deserves to see 2023 with such a big, crazy and great project. Location and cost of the project are more or less clear. Only the preliminary survey will take two years," Erdogan told a meeting in Istanbul.

However, Erdogan said he would keep the location and the cost of the project secret to avoid any injustice.

"Today, we are rolling up our sleeves for one of world's greatest projects which cannot even be compared with Panama Canal, Suez Canal or Corinth Canal," Erdogan said.

He said Canal Istanbul would be a waterway that world's biggest vessels would easily pass through Istanbul and open to Black Sea or Marmara Sea.

Erdogan also said that there were no difficulties regarding the financing of the project, saying, "Turkey has the will to make this big project real, make this dream come true."

"Istanbul is the only city on earth that a sea passes through," he said. "With this project, Istanbul will become a city that two seas will pass."

With a population of nearly 15 million, Istanbul, Turkey's largest metropol, creates 40 percent of Turkey's national income.
Erdogan also heralded a new airport for Istanbul within the scope of the project, which will be built near the canal with the largest ever capacity in Turkey.

"We will build Istanbul's largest airport in this area. Our target is to build an airport with a capacity to host 60 million passengers a year," he said.