Time.news – The foundations of Canal Istanbul were laid today, the isthmus destined to connect the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, work destined to change the history of the metropolis on the Bosphorus, which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has always supported and strongly supported despite the criticisms received from the opposition.
Canal Istanbul has in fact been at the center of bitter controversy by environmental groups for months, of the mayor, Ekrem Imamoglu, representative of the republican opposition party CHP, but also of 104 retired admirals, who through a letter pointed out that the Canal would prevent Turkey from fulfilling the commitments deriving from the Montreaux convention.
Ten of the petitioners have been arrested and are still under investigation. Erdogan has dreamed of this infrastructure since he was Prime Minister, in 2011, the date on which inspections and environmental impact studies began.
The canal route, which will drastically reduce waiting times for ships crossing the Bosphorus, was chosen from 5 different options. The Canal will be about 45 km long, about 21 meters deep and 275 wide, largely dug in areas already dense with water and marshy which will make its construction faster.
The project involves the construction of an isthmus connecting the Marmara and Black Seas in the west of the European part of the city, through which to convey commercial traffic and cruise ships. The construction of entire new neighborhoods on both shores is also planned, in which approximately 250,000 people will be able to live, as well as a marina, six bridges and a port for containers. The completion of the project is expected in 7 and a half years, will cost around 8 billion euros and has been entrusted to a public-private consortium.