Erdogan’s crazy Canal Istanbul

Turkey is hoping to begin work on President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Canal Istanbul, a gigantic shipping project that even the Turkish leader has described as “crazy”.

Last year Turkey effectively paused the project, estimated to cost 75 billion lira ($12.6 billion), as the economy tipped into recession. But in recent weeks Erdogan has put building the 45-km (28-mile) ‘Kanal Istanbul’ atop his domestic agenda, raising concerns from environmentalists and architects.

The scale and cost of the project have drawn criticism from several quarters, including Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul’s opposition mayor, who says the canal will have a devastating environmental impact and will be difficult to finance.

The mayor of Istanbul, Ekrem Imamoglu, who will end his second year as mayor of the country’s largest municipality after two days, has reiterated his rejection of the “Istanbul Canal” project.

Imamoglu said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan intends to go on with project despite the opposition of some Environmental organizations and parties. More than 60% of the city’s residents oppose the water canal project.

Critics, who include the mayor of Istanbul, warn of a great environmental cost, including the potential ecological destruction of the Marmara Sea.

“This project is a massacre against nature and would cause the killing of the Marmara Sea and the suffocation of Istanbul, and its name should not be associated with the city, which is one of the most beautiful cities in the world”, Imamoglu added.

Imamoglu also revealed that “7% of the areas that will be affected by the project consist of forests, and 44% of agricultural land, and therefore the cement canal when built will destroy 13,400 hectares of forest land and cut down 394,000 trees that provide oxygen to millions of Istanbul residents.

According to Reuters, some of Turkey’s biggest banks are reluctant to finance President Tayyip Erdogan’s planned Istanbul canal due to environmental concerns and the investment risks hanging over the massive construction project.

Financing of the canal in a country where economic deterioration has become widespread, is also a divisive issue and a heavy additional burden on the budget which is already under strain amid economic stagnation that is expected to continue.