Kanal Istanbul construction to start at end of June: Erdoğan

The foundation of the major Kanal Istanbul project will be laid by the end of June, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.

The canal will add more to Istanbul's strategic and geographical importance, Erdoğan said at the inauguration the state-of-the-art Çamlıca TV-Radio Tower in Istanbul on May 29.

"Two cities will be built on the left and right banks of the canal and six bridges will also be built over the seaway. Some people are annoyed by this project, let them be so. We will go ahead with this project," the president added.

With Kanal Istanbul, the government is aiming at opening an artificial seaway between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea to mitigate the oil tanker traffic through the Bosphorus, one of the world's busiest maritime passages.

The 45-kilometer canal to be developed on the west of the city center on the European side of the city is proposed to have a capacity of 160 vessel transits a day.

Approving the report on the environmental impact of the mega project,
the Environment and Urbanization Ministry in January this year gave its nod to Kanal Istanbul.

The Kanal Istanbul project is estimated to cost some 75 billion Turkish Liras (around $8.8 billion).

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