Prime Minister Erdogan’s crazy project

Given the name “Canal Istanbul“, Turkey’s prime minister R. Tayyip Erdogan announced his crazy project.

He plans to build a canal on the European side of Istanbul which will link the Black Sea with Marmara sea and will allow large tankers to pass.

Canal Istanbul will be around 30 miles long, 25 metres deep and 150 metres wide.

Erdogan said “Istanbul will become a city with two peninsulas and an island”.

This will of course be a big change for Istanbul. Also the real estate market around the area will rise. Erdogan didn’t mention the exact coordinations of the canal but name Catalca was mentioned during the conversation.

Main aim of the Istanbul Canal project will be to relieve congestion through the Bosphorus Strait and reduce chances of an environmental disaster as tankers carrying oil and gas from Russia and Central Asia pass through the waterway separating the Asian and European halves of Istanbul.

The project is planned to be completed in 2023 when the 100th anniversary of Turkish Republic will be celebrated.

They also plan to build a third airport for Istanbul which will have capacity for 60 million passengers annually.
As said, former Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit came up with a similar idea years ago but it did not draw much attention those times.