Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched the construction of the Istanbul Canal, which will run parallel to the Bosphorus and connect the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara
“Today we are opening a new page in Turkey’s development by laying the first stone in the construction of the first bridge over the Istanbul Canal, which will be 45 kilometres long and have a minimum width of 275 metres and a depth of 21 metres. The Bosphorus is now experiencing very heavy traffic, one of the busiest in the world. Every passage of a large ship across the strait carries serious accident risks for the city. This bridge is the first step in the implementation of the canal project”, – Erdoğan said.
According to Erdogan, the canal project will cost around $15 billion. Turkey plans to complete the construction within six years. Erdogan noted that the canal will reduce the waiting time for passage between the seas: now ships are waiting in line for up to 15 hours. In addition, large ships have a hard time navigating the Bosphorus, avoiding accidents.
The Istanbul Canal project was unveiled by Turkey’s president in 2011. The canal is 45 km long, 275 meters wide and 20 meters deep, and is intended to be a new shipping artery in the western part of Istanbul, connecting the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. It will divide the European part of the country into two.