Turkish Government Announces Kanal Istanbul Final Route

The Turkish Government yesterday announced the final route of a new waterway aimed to reduce shipping traffic on the busy Bosphorus Strait – the Kanal Istanbul Project.

According to Ahmet Arslan, the Transport and Communications Minister, the canal would begin in the Istanbul district of Kucukcekmece on the Sea of Marmara, where there is already an inland lake.

The new waterway will then head north toward the Sazlidere reservoir before emerging into the Black Sea just north of Durusu.

Documents from Turkey’s Environment Ministry showed that the 45 kilometer canal will be 25 meters deep and 250-1,000 meters wide, depending on where the docks are located.

“We intend to complete the bidding process with a mixed model, including a build-operate-transfer model, and other public-private partnership alternatives, and to launch the project this year,” Arslan said.

The Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, announced the project to the public in 2011, while he was the prime minister.

The new canal is expected to have capacity for 160 vessels a day and is scheduled to be completed by 2023.

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