The Turkish government announced a project where an artificial
channel is to be built between the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara.
Announcement of Project – Kanal Istanbul
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced Project Kanal
Istanbul in 2011 when he was the Prime Minister of Turkey.
The most important part of the project which was the final route
of this project was unveiled in the month of January, 2018.
Ahmet Arslan, Minister for Transport, Maritime
and Communication disclosed the final route.
The Final Route
The final route is a 45 kilometre route that will enter Küçükçekmece Lake and
touch the Black Sea through the Sazlidere Dam from east of the Terkos Lake.
7 kilometers of the road passes through Küçükçekmece,
6.5 kilometers goes through Basaksehir,
3.1 kilometers goes through Avcilar while 28.6-kilometer
part of the route passes through Arnavutköy.
Cost
The cost of the final route will alone come up to 60
billion Turkish Lira which is about $15.6 billion.
The total cost of the Kanal Istanbul project will be
more than the cost of Istanbul New Airport project.
The Purpose
The waterway will reduce the transport on the Bosphorus, Istanbul.
There are more than 56,000 ships that cross the Bosphorus every year.
Ships carrying dangerous materials through Bosphorus could
prove hazardous to the people living around the area.
People staying around the Bosphorus will have a
better life from the urban transformation projects.
The waterway will add to the beauty of Turkish watercourse transportation.
The Plan and Project
The bidding of the project and consultancy services was held
in 2017 and the work began in the month of August, 2017.
Kanal Istanbul is due to complete in 2023.
It will capacitate 160 vessels in a day.
Some of the most prestigious organizations of Turkey support
the project – Gazi University, Istanbul Technical University,
Middle East Technical University and Bogaziçi University are some of them.
Several elements have been considered and the project has been put into
effect after evaluating each of the necessary elements carefully –
soil resources, splitting volume, mine, underground
and surface water resources, channel length,
effects on residential areas, site and sensitive
areas, effect on maritime and transport networks.
Risks of earthquake have also been studied and the average
recurrence of 72 years, 475 years and 2,475 years.
The initial stage of the project involves the construction of a new waterway which will
connect the Black Sea with the Marmara Sea – towards the Istanbul’s European side.
By the end of 2017, a total of 17,000 meters of the drilling was done.
The material from the excavation will be used as filling
material towards the construction of the canal.
The filling material that will come from the Black Sea will
be used to make artificial islands in the Marmara Sea.
By the end of 2017, a total of 17,000 meters of drilling was completed.
The material from the excavation will be used as filling
material towards the construction of the canal.
Completion of the Kanal Istanbul Project
Kanal Istanbul is due to be completed in the year 2023 which coincides
with the 100th anniversary of Turkey as a Republican nation.