Baku, Azerbaijan, Oct. 12
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Construction of Istanbul Canal, a waterway that will link the Black and Marmara seas, may begin in late 2017 after a winner of the tender for selecting contractors is defined, or in early 2018, the Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications of Turkey told Trend Oct. 12.
Presently, work is underway to organize a tender for the waterway’s construction, according to the ministry.
The ministry also noted that the Istanbul Canal will promote the growth of cargo transportation.
As many as 162 types of work have been carried out so far throughout the route, along which the Istanbul Canal will be laid, in order to study the geological structure of the site intended for construction.
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed the intention to implement the Istanbul Canal project in 2011.
The length of the Istanbul Canal will be 43 kilometers, while its depth and width will be 25 meters and 400 meters, respectively.
The project’s cost is $10 billion. The waterway’s construction is planned to be finished by 2023.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu