Canal Istanbul: Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's 'crazy project' is steeped in controversy, here's why

On Saturday, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan took the first step in the construction of a ship canal skirting Istanbul that the government says will ease marine traffic in the Bosporus Strait.

“Today we are opening a new page in the history of Turkey’s development,” Erdogan said in a bridge ground-breaking ceremony in Sazlidere, west of Istanbul.

“We see Canal Istanbul as a project to save the future of Istanbul … to ensure the safety of life and property of Istanbul’s Bosporus and the citizens around it.”

Let's take a brief look at the project and why it is steeped in controversy:

What is Canal Istanbul?

The "Canal Istanbul" is a gigantic waterway running parallel to the Bosphorus Strait connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean.

The idea of a canal linking the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea — dubbed his “crazy project” by Erdogan — was first suggested in 2011 and revived three years ago.

The project’s first structure, an eight-lane, 840-meter (about a half-mile) road bridge, will link to the North Marmara highway that also connects other recent infrastructure projects — a new airport and a third Bosporus crossing.

The 45-kilometre waterway will connect the Black Sea to global maritime networks, a strategically important issue at the heart of European geopolitics and conflicts for centuries.

Environmentalists upset, Russia ruffled 

The government says the canal will relieve pressure on the Bosporus, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, and reduce the risk of accidents.

But opponents say it will serve little purpose and will cause widespread ecological damage to the region, increase the dangers posed by earthquakes and saddle Turkey with further debt.

Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, who represents Turkey’s main Opposition party,  called Saturday’s ceremony an “illusion” that is related to plans for the highway rather than the canal.

“The construction of a bridge here has nothing to do with the canal project. It’s something to do with the road hub,” he told a news conference in Sazlidere on Thursday.

The project has also sparked criticism abroad, mainly in Russia, a country that fears seeing easier access to the Black Sea for NATO forces.

Under the Montreux Convention governing navigation through the Bosphorus Strait — the only natural maritime access to the Black Sea — countries that don't have a coastline to the waters must give advanced notification of plans for their ships to pass through the region. And then, the vessels can only stay for a limited time.

"This project in no way violates Montreux," said former prime minister Binali Yildirim, who spoke before Erdogan at the ceremony.

Erdogan devoted almost all of his speech to defending the project.

Citing the risks posed by the rising number of ships passing through the Bosphorus, Erdogan said the project was mostly aimed at "ensuring the safety of (Turkey's) citizens in Istanbul" and allowing the country to take "a more important place" in international trade.

Dismissing critics, he said: "All stages of the project have been designed in accordance with science."

With inputs from agencies