İstanbul Mayor says 'only a handful of people' will benefit from Canal İstanbul project
Photo: AA/File
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İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has said that the Canal İstanbul, a planned artificial waterway linking the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, will be destructive for the while benefiting "only a handful of people."
"Canal İstanbul is a dream project for certain companies that will win tenders in this business," İmamoğlu said on Twitter.
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"If it is constructed, our city will lose 29 percent of its water resources, the Sazlıdere Dam will be destroyed, the risk of saltwater mixing in the Terkos Lake water will emerge, groundwater resources will be depleted," he said.
"Who needs Canal İstanbul? İstanbul or a handful of people whose 'order of extravagance' is over?" he asked, adding that the canal will cause 100 billion dollars of extra tax.
"... But we will pay the price for their pleasure, 82 million citizens of the Republic of Turkey will pay. Construction and expropriation costs, which will reach astronomical figures, will put a new tax burden of at least 100 billion dollars on all of us. We will be caught in the middle of new international crises. For this reason, we say that there is no other option; it's either the canal or İstanbul."
While visiting #Istanbul's Yeniköy village last month, I witnessed firsthand how the locals stand in complete objection to the destructive #CanalIstanbul project, which will annihilate their arable lands, water resources and cause a major disruption to their livelihoods. pic.twitter.com/R1eh9xAx5P
— Ekrem İmamoğlu (International) (@imamoglu_int) August 16, 2020
"Investors from half the world away somehow have all the particulars of the proposed #CanalIstanbul project while local villagers residing along the suggested project route report they have been given little to no information.
"While visiting #Istanbul's Yeniköy village last month, I witnessed firsthand how the locals stand in complete objection to the destructive #CanalIstanbul project, which will annihilate their arable lands, water resources and cause a major disruption to their livelihoods."
Municipality's report
İmamoğlu also noted that the municipality also released a report on the possible impact of the canal. According to the report, a significant portion of forestland and agricultural land will be lost if the canal is constructed.
Canal İstanbul projectPresident and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made a statement in 2011, when he was still the Prime Minister. In his speech, he mentioned "a new İstanbul" objective. Presented as a "crazy project", the plan referred to 'Canal İstanbul' for the first time. What is in the 'crazy project'?The basic information as to the project was shared with the public at a press conference in Haliç Congress Center in 2011. The plan foresaw an artificial sea-level waterway that would connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The most important aspect of the project was the integration of transportation. The construction of 3rd Bosphorus bridge foreseen by the project has been completed. In May 2016, 32 articles of 20 laws were amended. An additional article added to the Pasture Law has paved the way for the region's zoning for construction. With another amendment introduced to the law, it has been understood that the access roads to the Canal İstanbul will be toll roads. Ahmet Arslan, the then Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications, announced the route of the project in 2018. He said that the canal would form an artificial waterway from the Black Sea to Marmara Sea, covering 45 kilometers from Küçükçekmece Lake through Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor. The process of Environmental Impact AssessmentThe Board of Inspection and Survey of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report of the Canal İstanbul project on December 23, 2019. Accordingly, the report was presented to the public at the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and İstanbul Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization for 10 days. The citizens submitted petitions of objection against the project within this period. On January 17, 2020, Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum announced that they approved the EIA report of Canal İstanbul. |
(RT/VK)
