Maritime authorities for the Turkish government announced that the Istanbul canal project is good to go.
By Michael McGrady, Maritime Direct Americas & Pacific Correspondent
ISTANBUL — Environmental Minister Murat Kurum announced that the Kanal Istanbul Project has been approved and will enter into a construction phase in the coming weeks.
“We have approved the Kanal Istanbul Project development plans and put them out for public consultation. We will rapidly take steps to enrich our country and sacred city with Kanal Istanbul,” Kurum tweeted.
The Daily Sabah, a pro-government, English-speaking Turkish publication, reports that the proposed canal will connect the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea as an alternative global shipping lane. The estimated cost is about $9.2 billion or 75 billion Turkish Lira.
“Kanal Istanbul will serve as an international waterway that will complement Turkey’s logistics power and infrastructure by performing an important function in global maritime trade,” said Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu during a press conference in the national capital of Ankara.
The government also says it will ease shipping traffic on the Bosporus Strait. The strait is one the busiest waterways in the world.
With the incident at the Suez Canal behind us, the Istanbul canal would offer other means of transit.
As designed, the canal will be able to accommodate 160 vessel transits per day. That’s roughly the same as the current traffic volume handled through the Bosporus Strait, reports The Maritime Executive.
