A new water artery, the Istanbul Channel, will be dug through the European part of the Turkish capital to link the Black and Marmara seas, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday.
Speaking in Istanbul ahead of parliamentary elections scheduled for June 12, Erdogan said the construction of the 150-meter-wide water channel will become one of the largest projects of the 21st century, which will help solve the problem of the overloaded Bosporus Strait.
“Istanbul will become a city with two seas passing through it,” the prime minister said.
“This is an energy, transport, city-planning and scientific project at the same time, as well as a project for employment and environmental protection. It will help protect the nature of Istanbul, the environment, sea, water resources, flora and fauna,” he said.
The largest ships will be able to pass through the 25-meter deep channel, he added.
The cost of the project, which is expected to be completed within two years, is being kept secret, Erdogan said, adding that a new airport to become the largest in Turkey will also be built close to the channel.
Turkish media have reported that the estimated construction cost may reach $20 billion.
Erdogan’s announcement caused a controversial reaction in Turkish society, raising questions whether the construction of the channel may result in the violation by Turkey of a 1936 international convention regulating ship navigation through the Black Sea straits.
ANKARA, April 27 (RIA Novosti)