Turkish president announces start of shipping canal's construction in Istanbul

By Trend

Construction of a shipping canal in Istanbul will begin in the summer of this year, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, Trend reports on Apr.7 referring to the local media.

"Turkey won’t refuse from the construction of the shipping canal in Istanbul," noted Erdogan.

Earlier the president said that the implementation of this project will change the city’s view for the better.

According to him, this is an extremely important and strategic project.

"Turkey doesn’t receive income from the passage of ships through the straits of the country, but after the construction of the shipping canal, everything will change," he said.

In the third quarter of 2019, a total of 32,414 ships passed through the Turkish Dardanelles (Canakkale) Strait, of which 10,981 were cargo ships. Meanwhile, 30,352 ships passed through the Turkish Bosphorus Strait, of which 13,759 were cargo ships.

The length of the shipping canal in Istanbul will be 45 kilometers, and the depth - 25 meters. The canal will be able to let pass 150-160 vessels per day.

The purpose of the construction of the Istanbul canal is to reduce the burden of shipping on the Bosphorus Strait, as well as to prevent the threat of environmental and man-made disasters on one of the most intense sea routes in the world.

The Bosphorus is used by an average of 150 vessels per day, of which about 30 are oil tankers. Annually, about 150 million tons of oil and oil products are transported through the Black Sea Strait, while the throughput capacity of the Bosphorus is estimated at 200 million tons.

The Istanbul canal will run parallel to the Bosphorus and will actually turn the European part of Istanbul into an island and separate it from Europe. It will pass from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea through the Kucukcekmece Lake.

On the banks of the canal, it is planned to build new residential complexes, which will be connected with other areas of the 15 million metropolis via modern transport infrastructure including metro and high-speed trains, as well as with the third airport in Istanbul.

As part of this project, the construction of a new port is also expected.

It will be possible to use tankers with a length of 275 meters, a width of 48 meters and a capacity of 14,500 DWT on the Istanbul shipping canal, which is being built as part of the government’s ‘Vision 2023’ plan.

The construction of the navigable canal will continue for five years and the minimum service life of the canal will be 100 years.

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