President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's “crazy project” Channel Istanbul's Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report will be finalized in November 28 Review Evaluation Commission (IDK) meeting will be held. 75 is planned to be completed in 7 year. 4 for the channel will be excavated throughout the year and 1.1 will have a billion cubic meters of excavation

The announcement of the Review and Evaluation Committee (İDK) meeting about Kanal Istanbul, which was designed by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, on 28 November 2019, was made by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization. There are important changes in the EIA report, which will be finalized at the IAC meeting. The project, which is about 45 km long and 20.75 meters deep, which will pass through Küçükçekmece, Avcılar, Arnavutköy and Başakşehir districts, has increased to 60 billion TL, previously announced as 75 billion TL.

spokesmanAccording to the report of Özlem Güvemli from '' The EIA Application File presented on February 20, 2018 within the scope of the Canal Istanbul Project, was planned to create 3 artificial island islands in the Sea of ​​Marmara with suitable materials from the canal excavation. As a result of the ongoing engineering and feasibility studies, it was announced that the islands were abandoned because they were not considered financially effective. It was also noted that Sazlıdere Yacht Harbor, which is also in the same file, was canceled after in-channel cruise safety and detailed engineering studies. A marina with 200 berths will be built in Küçükçekmece Lake just at the entrance of the Sea of ​​Marmara.

Channel Istanbul 7 to be completed annually

The previously envisaged one-year preparation period has also been increased to 2 years. A slight hitch in the reportzamIt was stated that the preparation period of 2 years would be a safe approach in terms of planning. In this case, it was noted that the investment period will be 7 years, and the first 7 years of the 2-year period (starting from the tender stage) foreseen for the investment is considered as the preparation period (finalization of financing, land studies, preparation of application projects, mobilization work, etc.).

Canal Istanbul's excavations will last 4 years

According to the report, the excavation phase of the project will take 4 years. About 275 million cubic meters will be excavated annually. The total amount of excavation to be released from the canal was calculated as approximately 1 billion 155 million 668 thousand cubic meters. 1 billion 79 million 252 thousand cubic meters of this amount will be land excavation and 76 million 416 thousand cubic meters will be created by sea and lake scans. 1,1 million cubic meters of approximately 800 billion cubic meters of excavation planned to be carried out on land along the channel will be carried out in the section connected to the Black Sea.

One-way operation of Canal Istanbul was decided

As a result of the studies carried out within the scope of the operation (traffic) simulation and determination of the channel operation principle within the scope of Kanal Istanbul Project, it was decided to operate the channel one way. Within the scope of Kanal Istanbul Project; In the channel, emergency mooring areas, emergency response centers, channel entry and exit structures, infrastructure and superstructures such as ship traffic systems, port, logistics center, marina, coastal structures that will provide access across the channel at the required points, fortifications and coastal facilities such as landfills.

The projects to be developed as integrated with Kanal Istanbul Project are; Marmara and Black Sea Container Ports, Küçükçekmece Yacht Harbor and Black Sea coastal recreation fill and logistic area fill. A total of 54 million 605 thousand 865 square meters will be built on the Black Sea coast for recreation and logistics. The material will be used in the excavation.

There are agricultural lands, partially forest areas and settlements and water bodies on and around the route in question. Sazlıdere Dam, which provides 24-25 days of water in Istanbul, will be canceled as it is located on the route.

8-10 thousand people will work in the construction of Kanal Istanbul

Approximately 8-10 will be employed during the construction phase of the project, while 500-800 will be employed during the operational phase. The area where the construction activities will be carried out, which is defined as the working area, is calculated as approximately 63.2 million square meters. After the completion of construction activities will be abandoned for other public needs cut to the border of the channel structure approach will be 25.75 million square meters. The area to be used for the channel was announced as 37.5 million square meters.

Canal Istanbul will harm birds' habitat

Along with the channel route, a total of 21 teams and 44 bird species belonging to 124 families were identified. Stating that some of the bird species identified in the report use certain parts of the project area as a wintering area, breeding area and accommodation area, “It is thought that the greatest impact of the project activity on birds will be habitat loss. Küçükçekmece Lake is the richest area in the project area in terms of species diversity. It creates suitable areas around and in the body of water for both wintering species, breeding species and species that stay during migration. As a result of the loss of these areas, breeding and wintering populations of some critical species will be affected. In order to prevent these, it is suggested that a part of Küçükçekmece Lake is separated by a stretch and preserved in its current form and a habitat similar to the reed area in Altınşehir is created within the protected lake area. ”

Mandatory landing at the new airport

It is stated that the agricultural lands in Baklalı, Boyalık, Dursunköy are vital for migratory birds, especially storks, who are tired during migration or cannot continue due to adverse weather conditions. During the autumn migration, it was stated that large flocks descended to the agricultural areas of Istanbul University in the northwest of Küçükçekmece Lake, “With the disappearance of these areas, it will be possible to land in the open areas near Çatalca as the closest. There are no previously suitable areas for birds that cross the Bosphorus in the spring. In this case, the birds will be able to land either in the meadows around the New Airport area or in the openings around Çatalca. Considering the distance of these areas to the current accommodation areas, it is foreseen that the birds will have access to these areas without any problems and it is foreseen that there will be no negative impact for the birds using them for accommodation ”.

The works of Kanal Istanbul started in 2011

The report also described the history of the project. With the works initiated in 2011, the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, by the General Directorate of Highways, from 5 alternatives, starting from the point that separates the Sea of ​​Marmara from Küçükçekmece Lake, passing the Sazlıdere Dam Basin, passing the Sazlıbosna Village, reaching east of Dursunköy and Baklalı Village. It is noted that the route that reaches the Black Sea east of Lake Terkos after passing, is determined as the most suitable route for the "Canal Istanbul Project", the alternative waterway to the Bosphorus.

In line with this route, it was stated that the works related to the execution of the Kanal Istanbul Project were given to the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, General Directorate of Infrastructure Investments (AYGM) on February 4, 2017. It was told by AYGM that the tender for the study-project work was held on July 14, 2017 and the work was started on August 8, 2017 with the completion of the necessary procedures.