Istanbul Canal

The concept of a canal linking the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara has been proposed at least seven times in history.[11]

The first proposal was made by Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent (reigned 1520–1566). His architect Mimar Sinan was said to have devised plans for the project. The project was abandoned for unknown reasons.[11]

On March 6, 1591, during the reign of Sultan Murad III, an imperial ferman (order) was issued and work on the project recommenced, but again for unknown reasons the project was stopped.

In 1654 during the reign of Sultan Mehmed IV, pressure for the recommencement of the canal was applied but to no avail.

Sultan Mustafa III (reigned 1757–1774) tried twice in 1760 but the project could not go ahead due to economic problems.

During the reign of Sultan Mahmud II (reigned 1808–1839), an Imperial Ottoman Committee was established to examine the project once again. A report was prepared in 1813 but no concrete steps were taken.

A completely opposing view was taken in the 1920-52 plan for Atlantropa, which proposed a hydroelectric dam to be built across the Strait of Gibraltar, lowering of the surface of the Mediterranean Sea by up to 200 metres (660 ft). This plan included a dam across the Dardanelles to hold back the Black Sea.

The Energy Ministry's Consultant Yüksel Önem suggested the project of constructing an alternative waterway to the Bosporus in the 1985 magazine of Turkish Standards Institution and in the Science and Technical Magazine of Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey in 1990.[12]

In 1991, Nusret Avcı, Head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Environment Commission, proposed that a 23 km canal can be constructed that will pass between Silivri and Karacaköy. He suggested that this channel would significantly reduce hazards of maritime traffic and pollution in the Bosporus.[13]

Finally, on January 17, 1994 shortly before the local elections, the leader of the Democratic Left Party (DSP) Bülent Ecevit proposed a canal connecting the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara.[11][14]

Heat map of marine traffic activity near Bosporus. Vessels are parked waiting to pass the Istanbul Strait

The stated purpose of the project is to reduce the large marine traffic through the Bosporus and minimise the risks and dangers associated particularly with tankers.[15]

About 41,000 vessels of all sizes pass yearly through the Istanbul Strait, among them 8,000 tankers carrying 145 million tons of crude oil. International pressure is growing to increase the marine traffic tonnage through the Turkish straits that brings risks for the security of marine navigation during the passage.[16] The Bosporus sees nearly three times the traffic of the Suez Canal. The canal will further help prevent the pollution caused by cargo vessels passing through or mooring in the Sea of Marmara before the southern entrance of the Bosporus.[17]

The following table shows the total volume and amount of large vessels passed through Istanbul Strait:[18]

On January 15, 2018 the route of the project was declared. The final route for Istanbul Canal was selected after studies on five alternative routes. The Ministry of Transport announced that the project will pass through Lake Küçükçekmece near the Marmara Sea. It will pass through the districts of Avcılar and Başakşehir before reaching the Black Sea in the Arnavutköy district north of the city. Seven kilometers of the route passes through Küçükçekmece, 3.1 kilometers goes through Avcılar, 6.5 kilometers goes through Başakşehir, and the major 28.6-kilometer part of the route goes through Arnavutköy.

The waterway will have a length of 45 km (28 mi), with a depth of 20.75 m (68.1 ft). Its width will be 360 m (1,180 ft) on the surface and 275 m (902 ft) wide at the bottom.

The largest ship sizes that can pass through the canal were determined as 275–350 meters long, 49 meters wide, draft of 17 meters and an air draft of 58 meters.[19]

On September 23, 2010, Hıncal Uluç, a columnist with the daily Sabah, wrote an article named "A Crazy Project from the Prime Minister" without mentioning the content of the project. In this article, Uluç wrote his reaction to his phone call with Prime Minister Erdogan stating that "I had the phone in my hand and froze. This is the most crazy project I've ever heard about Istanbul. If anyone would have asked me to come up with thousand projects, it still wouldn't have crossed my mind. It's that crazy." This article led to creating hype around the project dubbing it as the "Crazy Project" (Turkish: Çılgın Proje).[20]

It appeared that the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government had started discreet studies on the project earlier and that concrete steps were taken for the revival of this project. The project was mentioned by Minister of Transport Binali Yıldırım in May 2009 at the parliament.[16] On April 27, 2011, the then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan officially announced the Kanal İstanbul project during a rally held in connection with the upcoming 2011 general elections[15][21][22]

Studies relating to the project were completed within two years. The canal was initially planned to be in service latest in 2023, the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the Republic.[17]

On 22 January 2013, the Turkish Government announced that research studies about the canal would commence in May 2013.[23] In April 2013 the first stage of the Kanal İstanbul project which includes the construction of various network bridges and highways commenced.[24][25]

In December 2019, construction did not yet commence. President Erdoğan has indicated that a request for tender for the project would be published in early 2020. Meanwhile, Ekrem İmamoğlu, elected as the mayor of Istanbul in 2019 from the opposition party CHP, is opposed to the project.[26]

In January 2020, the Environment and Urbanization Ministry approved the final version of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the Istanbul Canal project.[4]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality officials have stated that Istanbul Canal will cost ₺75 billion to build.[27][28] The central government has pitched a build-operate-transfer model as its main preference, but will tap its national budget if needed.[29] Approximately 8-10 thousand people will be employed during the construction phase of the project, while 500-800 will be employed during the operational phase.[30] It is envisaged that Turkish Armed Forces personnel would play a key role in the Canal's development.

Some critics have stated that Turkey aims to bypass the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits, in order to attain greater autonomy with respect to the passage of military ships (which are limited in number, tonnage, and weaponry) from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara.[31][32]

In 2013, Stratfor characterized the announced $12 billion construction budget and initial operating date of 2023 as being "not realistic for a project of this magnitude."[33]

The city government of Istanbul and local groups are opposed to the project because it would eliminate Lake Durusu, which is used for a fifth of the city's drinking water, and because they expect it will cause overcrowding as the local population increases.[34] The project has also been criticized for destroying agricultural and forest land and a walking trail, and potentially contaminating groundwater with salt and increasing flooding.[35] Other environmental criticism include potential changes to the salinity of Marmara Sea, leading to Istanbul smelling of hydrogen sulfide.[36] Observers said the plan to charge transit fees to oil and gas tankers is unrealistic as long as free passage is guaranteed through the Bosporous.[35] Along with members of the royal family of Qatar, Berat Albayrak, the Turkish Minister of Finance and son-in-law of President Erdoğan, purchased property along the route, meaning he would personally benefit financially from the resulting real estate development.[34] Ekrem Imamoglu, Istanbul's mayor, said that limited financial resources should be used for getting Istanbul ready for an earthquake and solving economic problems,[37] and that all buildings that have an earthquake risk in Istanbul could be rebuilt with Istanbul Canal's budget.[38] According to a survey in Istanbul by MAK, 80.4% of the respondents were against Istanbul Canal project, while only 7.9% supported it.[39]