PM envisions 2nd strait in ?stanbul as hedge against environmental disaster
by editor | 2010-10-07 9:13 am
PM envisions 2nd strait in ?stanbul as hedge against environmental disaster
ERCAN YAVUZ
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is planning to create a second Bosporus strait by 2023, mitigating the effects of potential oil spills and flooding, in what he calls a “crazy project,” a source close to Erdo?an has told Today’s Zaman.
According to the information Today’s Zaman received from an official who wished to remain anonymous, Erdo?an is planning an immense construction project to build a canal between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea through Silivri and Çatalca, the two westernmost districts in ?stanbul, which will take the entire naval transportation burden off the Bosporus.
According to the official’s account, Erdo?an first thought about the project when he was the mayor of ?stanbul, but it evolved into its current form after two floods affected the city in 2007 and 2009. However, the same source said, Erdo?an took the project onto his agenda because of the possibility of an oil spill disaster caused by an accident in the Bosporus, which is a frequent route for oil-carrying vessels. In 1979, a Romanian-flagged ship, the Independenta, loaded with 94,600 tons of oil, collided with another vessel in the Bosporus, resulting in the deaths of 43 crew members and a 27-day fire, not to mention the severe air and sea contamination which persisted for much longer. Erdo?an’s project is expected to offer a solution to sea traffic hazards and possible future floods.
Erdo?an discussed the feasibility of such a project with some experts from ?stanbul University and decided to put it into practice, the same source said, and added that more in-depth talks had been held with Russian and Italian companies, one of which, a Russian company whose name the source refused to disclose, told the relevant Turkish authorities that it could undertake the construction.
According to the preliminary agreement with the company, the project is expected to cost between $8-$10 billion and is planned to be built, not in a straight line, but by following streambeds. If everything goes as planned, the project will be based on a public-private partnership as a part of which the Russian company will bear all the costs but would eventually hold the rights over any revenue earned from the canal’s traffic. The project was kept secret because, the same source said, Erdo?an wanted to avoid any possible disputes between third parties over acquiring land in the region to later be sold to the state for much higher prices. The experts and the private companies consulted said it was possible to pool the region’s streambeds on which the canal would be built, following the enlargement and deepening of the streams. They also told Erdo?an that the project could be completed by 2023, the centennial of the modern republic, the source said.
H?ncal Uluç
In a different project, the Ministry of Transportation has been engaged in work to connect the Black Sea and Marmara Sea through the bed of the Sakarya stream. Minister Binali Y?ld?r?m said last year that they have taken the Sakarya project onto their agenda, but Erdo?an’s Çatalca-Silivri canal project came as a complete surprise to people in Turkey. Erdo?an first talked about what he called “the crazy project” to H?ncal Uluç, a columnist with the Sabah daily, without giving any details as to what it might be, but only a few days later said the opposition would understand their real intentions by the time they announced what it was. After the news pertaining to Erdo?an’s project hit the headlines, some group speculated that he would build a gigantic mosque on the Anatolian side of ?stanbul. Others said it was going to be the building of a huge park, on the area currently occupied by ?stanbul Atatürk Airport and moving the airport to Kemerburgaz while enlarging it. The thing was none of these, and similar other projects that people came up with, sounded “crazy.”
‘Bridge of Civilizations’ over the Bosporus Once the project is completed, Erdo?an intended to make a change to the planned third bridge over the Bosporus, the same official told Today’s Zaman. Erdo?an reportedly wants the third bridge to be constructed between Poyrazköy on the Asian side and Garipçe on the European side. The same source said the bridge would be made of stone and have three pillars in the Bosporus, which would not have any sea traffic once the planned canal was open. According to the official, Erdo?an wanted that bridge to be the “biggest symbol for the alliance of civilizations” and that it could be named the “Bridge of Civilizations.”
Source URL: https://globalrights.info/2010/10/pm-envisions-2nd-strait-in-stanbul-as-hedge-against-environmental-disaster/