Environment and Urban Development Minister Murat Kurum and Transportation Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu made statements about the latest developments of the Istanbul Canal project.

Work on the Istanbul Canal Project, announced by President Erdogan in 2011, is in full swing.

This project is considered one of the largest projects undertaken by the Turkish government.

This project faced strong opposition from the Turkish opposition.

The digging of the Istanbul Canal began in June 2021 and the Sazlıdere Bridge was opened.

Ministerial Statements over the development of Istanbul Canal

Minister Murat Kurum made important statements about the Istanbul Canal project by attending a consultation and evaluation meeting for members of the Istanbul Presidency Council.

“Unfortunately, the unwanted mentality is using the Istanbul Canal as an excuse to hide its stance against the growth and development of the country by the AKP,” Minister Murat Kurum said in a statement.

The minister also said that they will not kneel, and they will build the Istanbul Canal.

For his part, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu announced in a statement that they will accelerate their transportation projects in 2022, but the most important project is (Kanal Istanbul).

The minister also added that 2022 will be the year of the Istanbul Canal, adding that they will take all necessary measures to move forward this huge project.

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Despite all the opposition, the Canal Istanbul project began, and the Turkish government promised to pay its construction costs through fees and other revenues in full during the first 12 years of the construction.

According to local news agencies, the establishment of Canal Istanbul as a new crossing between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean & Marmara has become a vital issue and one of the Erdogan government’s major projects.

Ankara has not yet commented on the financing of the project, but the government is said to have entered into negotiations with several foreign investment groups.

Some of Erdogan’s opposition parties are concerned about the rentier aspects of the project, while others are drawing the government’s attention to the urgent needs of this massive project.

“We tell the government in clear and unambiguous language that the country does not currently need highways, tunnels, huge construction projects, airports and the like,” said Temel Karamollaoglu, leader of the Felicity Party.

“What should be the government’s top priority is to take care of the people’s living conditions, fight poverty and solve the problems of millions of young people in this country, most of whom are graduates and skilled, but they do not have jobs.”

Getting the money back in 12 year

Erdogan’s critics and political opponents believe that a combination of environmental and legal ramifications of the Montreux Convention makes Canal Istanbul a serious challenge.

Read More: Erdogan: The Istanbul Canal project has nothing to do with the Montreux Agreement

In addition, it creates thousands of huge rental opportunities that generate billions of dollars in profits. that will be the income for a particular group affiliated with the ruling party.

But despite all the opposition, the Istanbul Canal project began, and the Turkish government promised to pay for the construction of the canal from transit fees and other revenues during the first 12 years.

The Istanbul Canal is 45 km long and 20 meters deep, 78% of which is a natural waterway and the remaining 22% will require excavation work.

The Turkish Ministry of Transport and Communications announced that it has consulted with 200 scientists and experts in the field of water and environment and received their positive comments.

From Suez to Istanbul

Trade and shipping have become more important to Turkey, and it is important for the country’s governments to own a canal the size of the Panama Canal or the Suez Canal.

The Suez Canal generates huge revenues for Egypt, and Turkey intends to achieve these revenues.

Interestingly, Turkey’s goal in constructing the new Istanbul Canal is that Erdogan’s government is not only inspired by the geographical and economic location of the Egyptian Suez Canal, but also intends to use the advice of the Suez Development Company to build the canal.

Why is Suez important to Turkey?

Arab Egypt has always been an important land for Islamic governments, and was in the hands of the Umayyad, Abbasid and Fatimid caliphs until 1517, and when the Ottoman Empire came to power.

In 1798, Napoleon invaded Egypt and in 1805, Muhammad Ali Pasha ruled in the name of the Ottoman government.

References to court correspondence and memoranda of Ottoman ambassadors and politicians at the time, indicate that Egypt had always been of great importance to the Ottoman court.

And later the Suez Canal became very important to the Ottoman court and Turkish merchants.

The Suez Canal is not a natural geographical phenomenon, but a man-made waterway of 198 km length that extends from the Egyptian port of Said in the Mediterranean Sea to the city of Suez on the northern shores of the Gulf of Suez.

This canal separates most of Egypt from the Sinai Peninsula.

It took 10 years to build this waterway and its official opening date was November 17, 1869.

This channel connects the Mediterranean with the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

The Suez Canal is an acronym for ships and boats that pass through European and American ports to the ports of Southeast Asia, East Africa, and Oceania. Which leads to a great shortcut.

The Suez Canal is currently the fastest shipping route between Europe and Asia.

It is estimated that about 7% of all sea trade in the world takes place through this water channel.

Thus, revenue from fees is one of Egypt’s main sources of foreign exchange earnings, as the Egyptian government receives the largest amount of money from it after the three pyramids.

Between 18,000 and 20,000 ships pass through the Suez canal annually, and the Egyptian government receives nearly $7 billion for transiting these ships.

Is Suez comparable to Istanbul?

There are very serious and important differences between the Suez Canal and the Istanbul Canal.

The Suez Canal is a vital junction between Asia and Europe stretching from the vast Mediterranean to the Red Sea and Oceania.

But the location of the Istanbul Water Canal is just a new confluence between the Black Sea and the Sea of ​​Marmara and from there to the Mediterranean and the Aegean.

Thus, one can see the fact that Istanbul Canal cannot be compared to Suez in terms of geostrategic importance and the size of the trade corridor.

Read More: Turkey realizes the importance of the Istanbul Canal project after the Suez Canal incident

The Turkish Minister of Transport and Communications, Adel Kara Ismailoglu, announced that a group of consultants and experts under his command will continue and consult with the Suez Canal Construction Company.

The Turkish Minister of Transport and Communications believes that the $15 billion needed to finance the Istanbul Canal project will not be a new burden on the Turkish national budget.

Adil Kara Ismailoglu also believes that Turkey should get a real foothold in maritime transport and trade.

“Every year, 12 billion tons of goods are transported in the world’s seas, of which only 1.7 billion tons are for the Black Sea Basin,” he said.

By 2030, the volume of maritime transport will reach 25 billion tons, and 3.5 billion tons will be the share of the Black Sea.

Therefore, we, as Turkey, as a point of contact between the Black Sea and the outside world, must prepare ourselves for 2030.

We have to make sure that 3.5 billion tons of global goods pass through Istanbul.

“In a world where 90 percent of trade is by sea, sea lanes are important, and Istanbul must find its place.”

Finally, it should be noted that in recent years, an atmosphere has been created in Turkey where most economic and social issues, large or small, have become important cards for political and party games.

Apparently, the Istanbul canal is no exception to this rule.

Because the completion of this project is expected to coincide with two important political events, one on the eve of the 2023 elections and the other an opportunity to achieve the goals of the Turkey 2023 Development Document.

The post Turkey and the desire to copy the Suez Canal to Istanbul – Canal Istanbul appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with the youth as part of the library talks and spoke about Canal Istanbul. President Erdoğan’s statement came as follows:

“Canal Istanbul is actually an 11-year-old project, it’s a step we took when I was the mayor of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality.

It is imperative that we take a step towards Kanal Istanbul, as the Bosphorus strait poses a threat to the massacre of the environment at any moment.

Especially at the point of bends, where the Bosphorus has the advantage that ships may experience what we call a rudder lock situation in some places.

There are places where they cannot maneuver when necessary, and there have been accidents in the Bosphorus several times.

And the last time a Russian warship was there, you know, it had an accident, unfortunately.

Once the Romanian oil tanker was, unfortunately, a fire threat in Istanbul Selimiye, and the Romanian tanker burned there for about 7 months.

The dry cargo ship came and laid it onshore at Kandilli, so shall we never learn anything from it?

We need to learn from these disasters, especially since the Bosphorus, through which 45,000 ships pass annually, cannot carry this traffic any longer.

Current forecasts indicate that this number will reach 78,000 in 2050, and traffic is constantly increasing.

However, the capacity of the safe passage of the strait is only 25,000, since we were not able to close the Bosphorus to the passage of ships.

We now have the only chance to face the increased traffic, which is Kanal Istanbul.

We told both sides of the 500,000-person Canal Istanbul included in the project, let’s build a city.

And while creating this for both sides, we’re taking steps that we call urban planning, you know, it’s high-quality construction at the drop-off point, also in Istanbul and all over Turkey.

For example, there is a problem in Avcilar in Istanbul, which is the earthquake problem, let’s say to our compatriots here, look, there are very beautiful houses here.

Let’s show them as a solution to earthquake threats from different parts of Istanbul and move them here, so let’s save our people from these threats.

And our goal is the horizontal architecture, not the vertical architecture on either side of this channel, the +4 floor didn’t know +5…no more.

We said, “Let’s do this around Kanal Istanbul in Istanbul with an architecture that makes it look very beautiful with such a structure.”

51 scientists from 11 different universities and a total of 204 experts serve here.

As a result of this task, the canal is 45 kilometers long, at least 275 meters wide, 20.7 meters deep, and say 21, and this depth is called into question.

Studies have shown that the movement of ships in the Istanbul Canal will be 13 times safer than in the Bosphorus.

This is given that there is a 13 times safer situation, so does it make sense for us to continue the resistance in the Bosphorus?

Big tankers and cargo ships, we will have to close the Bosphorus to them and take them all to our Istanbul Canal.

We cannot leave such a project that will bring a new era to our country at the mercy of the opposition, our goal with Kanal Istanbul is first-class:

• Elimination of environmental danger
• Eliminate all accidents in Istanbul to a large extent
• Provide a more healthy movement.

And another step here with ports and marinas, this project will have an exceptional place in the world.

We will make it pointable, the opposition’s approach to this issue is very, very ugly, and if we thank them, we can do nothing.”

The post Statement of the new Istanbul channel from President Erdogan appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said: “Today we have opened a new page in the history of development in Turkey, we have laid the foundation for the Saz Canal project that he is managing in Istanbul with a bridge project.”

In a post on his social media account, President Erdogan stated that they will continue their struggle to bring business to the country and the nation.

Erdogan noted that the Istanbul Canal project was shared with the public on April 27, 2011.

He said: “51 scientists from 11 different universities worked, a total of 204 experts and 3,500 people from 35 different countries participated in the modeling studies.

More than 17 thousand meters were drilled in 304 different places, and 248 geophysical surveys were carried out.

According to scientific studies, the most reasonable and effective line out of 5 different alternatives has been determined.

It will be located within the borders of Kucukcekmece, Avcilar, Basaksehir, and Arnavutkoy, and will be 45 kilometers long, 275 meters wide, and 20.75 meters deep. “Six bridges will be built over Istanbul Canal,” he added.

President Erdogan said: We are opening a new page in the history of development in Turkey.

Erdogan also noted that the main extension of the Kanal Istanbul Sazlıdere Bridge on the Başakşehir – Bahcesehir – Hadiköy highway is 440 meters.

With a total length of 1,618 meters and a platform width of 46 meters, Erdogan said the towers, which are 196 meters high, were designed with “diamond engineering.”

President Erdoğan noted that with the completion of the Basaksehir-Bahaşehir-Hademeky section, carbon emissions will be reduced by 32,126 tons.

A total of 717.2 million liras will be saved annually, 641.7 million liras of time, and 75.5 million liras of fuel oil.

The post New Istanbul Canal in an interview with President Erdogan appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

Communications Director Fahrettin Altun announced that all work related to the Istanbul Canal can be followed at http://kanalistanbul.gov.tr.

 Fahrettin Altun said on his social media account that all work related to the Istanbul Canal can be followed transparently.

“The Canal will put the country in a unique position”

Altun shared, “You can find everything you wonder about Canal Istanbul, which will bring Turkey to a unique position.And this is in terms of economy, trade and logistics on our website https://kanalistanbul.gov.tr/tr, where you can follow the process of building Canal Istanbul with full transparency here.

The post Altun: You can find everything about Kanal Istanbul on our website appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

The Turkish President stressed that the Istanbul Canal project has nothing to do with the Montreux Charter, As the Turkish President stated that this project will establish the independence and sovereignty of Turkey.

According to the Anatolia News Agency, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with young people as part of the “Library Meetings Series” held at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.

In response to a question about the benefits of the Istanbul Canal project and whether it aims to withdraw from the Montreux Agreement,

Erdogan said, “This Canal, which is 43-42 kilometers long, will connect the Black Sea to the sea of Marmara.”

Erdogan also added that Montreux was an agreement on the Bosphorus.

Here we will have the possibility of establishing our independence and absolute sovereignty.

He said, “The Istanbul Canal has nothing to do with the Montreux Agreement as this project will bring us more peace and prosperity.”

The Turkish president added: Istanbul will achieve great wealth in this project and pressure on the Bosphorus Strait and the surrounding area will be eased.

Regarding the decision to withdraw from the Istanbul agreement, Erdogan affirmed: “Unfortunately, the implementation of this agreement did not show any respect for women’s rights in our country and the world.”

Currently, 11 countries in the European Union are about to leave. Our constitution opposes and does not accept violence against women.

Erdogan concluded by saying that “violence against women is forbidden in our religion.”

We will reach an agreement that is fairer, more beautiful and stronger and will continue to do so.

The Turkish President also said, in response to another question about the recent statements of Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi: “The statements of the Italian prime minister are extremely rude and inappropriate.”

The post Erdogan: The Istanbul Canal project has nothing to do with the Montreux Agreement appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

A Russian political analyst explained the reasons for his country’s concern about the construction of the “Istanbul Water Canal” by Turkey, and said:

“Moscow is concerned that the construction of this canal will lead to Ankara’s withdrawal from the International Montreux Agreement.”

According to local news agencies, the Montreux Treaty signed on July 20, 1920, regulates maritime traffic in the Bosphorus and Dardanelles, as well as the Black Sea.

In an interview with one of the Arab satellite channels, about the reasons for Russia’s concern about the Istanbul water canal, the project through which Turkey plans to build a 45-km water bridge linking the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea.

Russian politician Iqbal Dari said that Moscow was concerned that the construction of the Istanbul Canal would theoretically give Ankara the right to withdraw from the International Montreux Treaty.

According to the report, Ankara’s withdrawal from the Montreux Agreement may accelerate the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO, and in this case the Black Sea will become just a sea belonging to NATO, and this is something Moscow will not accept.

At the domestic level in Turkey, political parties opposed to the government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan oppose the construction of the Istanbul Canal due to environmental risks and high financial costs.

The Russian politician said, “Historically, the issue of waterways was the cause of long-term clashes between Moscow and Ankara, but with the help of the Montreux Treaty, the two sides have not participated in a military conflict for nearly a hundred years.”

He added, “Moscow is committed to this alliance because it prevented the presence of NATO forces in the Black Sea.”

He added: “Ankara is so far committed to the provisions of the Montreux Agreement, but the withdrawal from this agreement may accelerate the entry of Ukraine and Georgia into NATO.”

In this case, the Black Sea would simply become a sea under NATO, and Moscow would oppose it and find it unacceptable.

He added, “The Russian-Turkish talks on the Istanbul water canal coincided with a sharp disagreement between Russia and Ukraine.”

Ukraine has the support of Turkey, and this situation raised Moscow’s fear.

Last Friday, the Kremlin issued a statement in response to Ankara’s plan to build the Istanbul Water Canal.

Stressing “the need to preserve the existing mechanism for the Black Sea Strait in accordance with the provisions of the Montreux Agreement to ensure regional stability and security.”

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to start the canal project next summer, despite opposition from domestic opposition and foreign protests.

The post Why is Russia afraid of building the Istanbul canal project? appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

The Suez Canal incident was a pretext for the Turkish government to think of ambitious plans that could impede an important part of the operation of the canal and create a new international route for trade between Europe and Asia.

Perhaps if what happened was a movie to stop the Suez Canal, it would have been considered a fictitious event, but in reality it Happened and the Suez Canal stopped working.

A state of shock, which was dominated by the severe anxiety of the Egyptian government and many countries of the world for several days and nights.

The closure of the Suez Canal prompted some Turkish officials and political analysts to believe the necessity of finding an alternative road linking Europe with Asia, whose main interests go to Ankara.

In fact, the Suez Canal incident gave hope to the Turkish government to think more about the new Istanbul Canal project, which could neutralize an important part of the Suez Canal operation and create a new international route for trade between Europe and Asia.

According to Anatolia News Agency, Sefa Çatal, an international economic security expert, said, “Turkey should strive to restore the remaining capacity on the Silk Road and turn the routes of China, Central Asia, the Caspian Sea and the Middle East into a dynamic route for trade and transit.”

The recent Suez Canal crisis created a long queue for 360 large cargo ships with a length of 65 kilometers combined waiting for departure and transit, which delayed the delivery of goods and corrupted some shipments, which led to damages amounting to 4 billion dollars.

Every year, more than 19,000 ships pass through this canal, and Egypt earns about $ 6 billion annually from this 195-kilometer route.

What is Turkey looking for?

Just one day after the signing of the final agreement between Russia, Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan and the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh war, Turkey announced that it was searching for a new transit route between Agadir, Nakhichevan and Azerbaijan.

Meanwhile, within one month, two freight trains were delivered from Istanbul via Georgia, and after crossing the Caspian Sea, The Turkish shipments were delivered to China.

On the other hand, a new railway contract was signed with Iran for export to Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In talks with the Baghdad government, Turkey called for a new border road between Iraq and Turkey so that Turkish merchants would not have to transfer their goods across the border from Iraqi Kurdistan to the southern provinces of the country.

In other words, Turkey is fully aware of the importance of transit and the use of railways and wants to use this tool as a sustainable source of economic benefits.

Commenting on the current state of transit of goods between Asia and Europe, Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoglu said:

“What happened in the Suez Canal reminded everyone that both the northern and southern crossings had problems.

But if we take into account an intermediate passage that carries goods without using the Red Sea, Suez and Mediterranean routes, then we conclude that in the alternative route (ie, in the middle lane) the goods will arrive at the destination 15 days before the sea route.

15 days is a great feature to accelerate the dynamic trade of countries”.

One of the important objectives of the Turkish government, which was briefly mentioned by the Minister of Transport, is the issue of new uses of the Black Sea Road, the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus.

This means that the dream project, known as “Istanbul Canal”, will create an open and easy way to connect the Black Sea with the Sea of ​​Marmara and the Aegean Sea.

The Istanbul canal will play an important role in the field of transit and trade from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and Europe.

But the truth is that the construction of this channel has many critics from environmentalists who believe that this controversial project will severely affect Istanbul’s habitat for humans, organisms and plants, and will create new environmental risks.

There is also a group of critics who believe that the legal dimension of this issue is complex and that the legal system of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas will be affected and that new problems will arise for Turkey.

Russia proposes the way to ice

According to a detailed report in Aidenlek, Russia has also suggested the “Arctic Ocean” line as a viable alternative.

Of course, with the difference that Russian transport companies will use gigantic special ships to break ice on this route.

“The recent accident in the Suez Canal reminded us once again of the importance of the Arctic Ocean Road, and the global economy should think of alternative routes to the Suez Canal,” said Vladimir Banov, Senior Director of Russia’s Rosatom Nuclear Agency.

The newspaper is an organ of the National Communist Party, an anti-American party in favor of China and Russia, with close ties to the Chinese Communist Party and Russian political figures.

The party believes that the Arctic Ocean Road, as a road under Russian rule and control, could generate high commercial benefits for Turkey.

“The Arctic Ocean route is an unknown and undiscovered route for Turkish sailors”.

“But Turkey will sooner or later have to join the forty-five countries that signed the Treaty on the Right of Navigation on this road, and it must plan to work in the Arctic,” the report added.

Finally, in recent years, especially after the strengthening of Turkish-Russian relations, Turkey has advanced in the Caucasus and Central Asia and the idea of ​​using more cargo transit in the Great East-West Corridor.

Development has become more important, and Erdogan’s team seeks to double the capabilities in the economic relations of Turkey, Russia, China, the Caucasus countries and Eurasia, to become a major transit force for goods between Europe and Asia.

The post Turkey realizes the importance of the Istanbul Canal project after the Suez Canal incident appeared first on Move 2 Turkey.

A Turkish Ministry of Transport spokesperson said that Turkey has launched the first tender for the construction of the new Istanbul water canal, referring to the progress of the project.

The tender includes the planning stage to rebuild two historic bridges located in the area to be occupied by the canal.

It is assumed that the canal connects the Black Sea north of Istanbul with the Sea of ​​Marmara in the south. Its cost is estimated at 75 billion Turkish liras, equivalent to 11.6 billion dollars. It is expected that the new waterway will reduce the heavy freight traffic in the Bosphorus Narrow and prevent accidents.

According to Anadolu Agency, on Thursday, five companies submitted bids to plan the reconstruction of the two bridges. Accepted tender bids ranged from 408-550 thousand TL, after the project was reactivated in December 2019 which was suspended after the currency crisis in 2018.

The new Istanbul water canal is one of the largest strategic mega projects in Turkey, and aims to eliminate the increased risks posed by ships across the Bosphorus.

The canal is 45 km long and will be built from the Küçükçekmece lake in Istanbul, and it is expected that 160 ships will cross it per day.

This massive project, announced by President Erdogan in 2011, aims to develop infrastructure by reducing pressure on the Bosphorus Strait, one of the busiest sea lanes in the world. The new canal will play an important role in preventing ship accidents, especially those associated with oil tankers.

As the new canal linking the Black Sea to the Sea of ​​Marmara, north and south of Istanbul, will become a safe alternative to the global shipping line.

The preparatory work for the project after the end of the tender will take about one and a half years. The construction is expected to take an additional five and a half years, indicating a plan for the completion of the entire project within seven years.

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