Court cancels Canal İstanbul zoning plan

The lawsuit opened by İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) regarding the zoning plan for the Canal İstanbul Project has been concluded.

The 11th Administrative Court of İstanbul has canceled the zoning plan for the Canal İstanbul Yenişehir Reserve Construction Area.

In the decision of the 11th Administrative Court of İstanbul, it was stated that the objections to the plan changes were found to be justified, and it was emphasized that the plan was not in accordance with urban planning principles and fundamentals. In İBB's application, it was argued that the plan was contrary to the public interest and would harm the environment.

Other legal processes related to Canal İstanbul started by İBB are still ongoing. The case regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is also being heard in the Council of State.

Announcing the decision on his social media account, İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu said, "The people of İstanbul objected, and the Canal İstanbul plans were canceled. The objections to the plan prepared by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization, and Climate Change, which would bring millions of new residents to our city and destroy its nature and water resources, were found justified by the 11th Administrative Court."

Canal İstanbul project

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chairperson Recep Tayyip Erdoğan mentioned the goal of a "new İstanbul" in a speech during his tenure as Prime Minister In 2011. It was during this time that the concept of a "Crazy Project" was introduced, which included the first mention of the name Canal İstanbul.

What does the “Crazy Project” include?

Basic information about the project was announced at a meeting held in the Haliç Congress Center in İstanbul in 2011. The most significant aspect of the project was integration in transportation. Today, the construction of the 3rd Bridge over the İstanbul Strait and the 3rd Airport, named the İstanbul Airport, which are targeted in this project, has been completed.

The region was opened up for speculation

In May 2016, changes were made to a total of 32 articles in 20 laws with an omnibus law. An additional clause added to the Grazing Law paved the way for the zoning of the area where Canal İstanbul is located. The inclusion of the phrase "road where access control is applied except for highways" in the law led to the conclusion that the roads connected to Canal İstanbul would be tolled.

The route announced in 2018

In 2018, the then Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs, and Communications, Ahmet Arslan, finally revealed the route of the project. He stated that the canal, which would create an artificial waterway between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, would start from Lake Küçükçekmece and extend for 45 kilometers along the Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor.

Environmental Impact Assessment

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report prepared for the Canal İstanbul project was found adequate by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization's Review and Evaluation Commission and was put on public display on December 23, 2019, inviting public feedback.

During the 10-day period when the report was on display, citizens requesting the cancellation of the project formed long queues at the provincial directorates affiliated with the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization across Turkey, especially in İstanbul, to submit their objections.

However, on January 17, 2021, Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum announced that they had approved the Canal İstanbul EIA Report.

What does the report include?

According to the latest EIA report, Kanal İstanbul project, with an estimated cost of 75 billion lira, is planned to be completed within 7 years.

The project, which will pass through the districts of Küçükçekmece, Avcılar, Arnavutköy, and Başakşehir, will be approximately 45 kilometers long and 20.75 meters deep. The excavation phase of the project will also take 4 years, with approximately 275 million cubic meters of excavation planned annually. The total amount of excavation to be removed from the canal is estimated to be around 1 billion 155 million 668 thousand cubic meters. Of this amount, 1 billion 79 million 252 thousand cubic meters will be land excavation, and 76 million 416 thousand cubic meters will be sea and lake dredging. Approximately 1.1 billion cubic meters of excavation planned along the canal will be carried out, with 800 million cubic meters in the section connecting to the Black Sea.

As a result of the studies conducted for the operation (traffic) simulation and determination of the canal operation principle within the scope of the Canal İstanbul Project, it has been decided that the canal will operate in one direction. Within the scope of the Canal İstanbul Project, it is planned to build coastal facilities such as emergency berthing areas, emergency response centers, canal entrance and exit structures, ship traffic systems, port, logistics center, marina, coastal structures providing sea transportation for cross-channel access, revetments, and fill areas where necessary along the canal.

Projects to be developed in conjunction with the Canal İstanbul Project include the Marmara and Black Sea Container Ports, Küçükçekmece Marina, and coastal recreation and logistics area fillings along the Black Sea coast. A total of 54,605,865 square meters of filling will be carried out for recreation and logistics areas on the Black Sea coast. The material excavated from the canal excavation will be used for filling.

During the construction phase of the project, it is estimated that approximately 8,000-10,000 people will be employed, while during the operation phase, 500-800 people will be employed. The area designated as the working area and where construction activities will be carried out is calculated to be approximately 63.2 million square meters. After the construction activities are completed, the section up to the canal structure approach boundary will be an abandoned area for other public needs, covering an area of ​​25.75 million square meters. The area to be used for the canal is stated to be 37.5 million square meters. (RT/PE)