Baku, Azerbaijan, June 18
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Negotiations are underway with construction companies to begin building the shipping channel in Istanbul, a source in the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure of Turkey told Trend June 18.
Almost all technical work has been completed to start the construction of the shipping channel in Istanbul, according to the source.
This project won’t be canceled, as it is one of the strategically important projects. It is expected that after the results of the repeated municipal elections to be held June 23 this year, a tender will be held for the construction of the shipping channel in Istanbul.
The intention to implement the project of construction of the Istanbul shipping channel was announced for the first time in 2011 by the current President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The length of the shipping channel in Istanbul will be 43 kilometers. The depth of the Istanbul channel, according to plans, will be 25 meters. The channel will be able to let pass 150-160 vessels per day.
The purpose of the construction of the Istanbul channel is to reduce the burden of shipping on the Bosphorus Strait, as well as to prevent the threat of environmental and man-made disasters on one of the most intense sea routes in the world.
The Bosphorus is used by an average of 150 vessels per day, of which about 30 are oil tankers. Annually about 150 million tons of oil and oil products are transported through the Black Sea Straits, while the throughput capacity of the Bosphorus is estimated at 200 million tons.
The Istanbul channel will run parallel to the Bosphorus and will actually make the European part of Istanbul an island and finally separate it from Europe. The channel will pass from the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea through the Kucukcekmece Lake.
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