The Istanbul Canal, Turkey’s greatest project
Turkey embraces one of the most crucial global water crossings, the Bosphorus Strait, the vital crossing that connects the continents of Asia and Europe, making Istanbul a distinguished strategic location. In recent years, pressure has increased tremendously on the Bosphorus Strait due to the development of global trade movement and the increase in dependence on maritime transport, which has begun to pose a threat to the historical buildings surrounding the city and due to the heavy emissions of ships, all of the above creating the need for new water crossing to reduce the burden on the Strait The Bosphorus on the one hand and the other hand achieve tremendous economic growth for Turkey and the countries of the world.
Accordingly, the Turkish government launched a water canal project in the European part of Istanbul, and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated the Istanbul Canal project. This Canal will connect the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea, thus defying all internal and external criticism and objections against the project and marking the first step towards changing the land and sea transport movement in Turkey and the world.
What is the Istanbul Water Canal, and where will it be located?
Studies indicate that navigation within the Istanbul Canal will be 13 times safer than navigation in the Bosphorus Strait. The Istanbul Canal will be implemented like the Suez Canal in Egypt, which connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It will form a waterway parallel to the Bosphorus Strait and will be 30 km away from it and 45 km in length. Its base is 275 meters wide and 21 meters deep. It will extend from the Sea of Marmara, specifically from the natural lake of Kucukcekmece to the west of Istanbul and the north to the Sazildere Dam, then the village of Shamlar, and finally to the Black Sea. The Canal will be provided with six bridges connecting it to the country’s existing land transport network.
Expectations indicate that the Canal will become a significant passage for ships and giant tankers, as for the historic Bosphorus Strait, it will become a secondary passage, and the Canal will give Turkey a great competitive advantage in the international transport trade, more than 75% of which passes through the seas. The project was supposed to start in. However, the Corona pandemic stopped the country completely. It imposed a general lockdown, postponed until this year, as Turkish President Erdogan inaugurated the project and laid the foundation for the first bridges of the Canal.
Foundation work has commenced for the 1.6-kilometer bridge and is expected to be completed within six years, i.e., in 2027.
The economic importance of the Istanbul Water Canal project:
The Istanbul Canal project will bring the Turkish government about eight billion dollars annually due to the tariffs ships will pay for passing through the Canal because the Canal will not be subject to the Montreux Convention.
The Montreux Convention dated back to 1369 and was concluded between Turkey, Britain, France, Greece, the former Soviet Union, Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Japan, and Australia. This agreement provides freedom of navigation in the straits of the Black Sea, including the Bosphorus.
The agreement allows the ships of the countries bordering the Black Sea to free passage and stay in the Black Sea basin. As for ships belonging to countries outside the Black Sea basin, they are allowed to stay for three weeks.
How will the Istanbul Canal affect the Istanbul real estate market?
Istanbul is witnessing an increasing movement in buying and selling real estate with the launch of the Istanbul Canal project. Such a vast project will certainly have its economic effects on all investment fields, including the real estate sector, as major construction companies have begun to open mega projects, meaning that the areas surrounding the Istanbul Canal will witness An architectural and service renaissance and consequently, thus the rise in real estate prices.
