Erdogan forges ahead with his 'dream' to build a canal to rival Suez
The government wants to dig an artificial waterway between Istanbul’s two seas to spur economic growth, but conservationists and economists say the Istanbul Canal will prove costly for the city.
Turkey is moving forward with controversial plans to build a canal to rival Suez and Panama, but it threatens to wreak environmental havoc, destroy budgetary balances and drive sprawl in Europe’s biggest city.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Oct. 10 that "ground-breaking" would take place within months for the Istanbul Canal, which he dubbed his “crazy project” when he introduced it in 2011.
“God willing, we will lay the foundation for a new canal parallel to the Bosporus, what we call the Istanbul Canal — my dream — most likely at the end of this year or at the beginning of 2018,” Erdogan said. “There is a Suez, a Panama and there will be an Istanbul Canal.”
The 43-kilometer (27-mile) canal would slice through forest and farmland to connect the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and render half of Istanbul an island. The project is part of the government’s $250 billion infrastructure-building spree by 2023 to power economic growth.
