İstanbul mayor calls on government to cancel Canal İstanbul project

Photo: AA

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İstanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu has once again called on the government to cancel the Canal İstanbul project, a planned waterway linking the Black Sea in the north and the Sea of Marmara in the south.

The real reason behind the government's willingness to build the canal is the "new city" that it plans to build around it, the mayor said.

"... the matter is not the canal. It's the buildings that will be erected around it. This is an 'emotional' business," said İmamoğlu. In Turkish slang, "emotional" is used to imply economic concerns.

"It has come to this point. We can't tolerate that ... We insist, we beg you. You can't put the future of Istanbul in trouble. You can't destroy the Sea of ​​Marmara," said the mayor.

"Protecting nature is protecting life. Protecting and improving nature and expanding green areas are to save the future. It's as clear as that," İmamoğlu remarked, adding that global warming is currently the world's most important concern.

President and Justice and Development Party (AKP) Chair Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today once again said that the construction of the canal's bridges will start this month.

Habertürk TV reported today that the groundbreaking ceremony for the first bridge will be held on June 26 with the attendance of the president.

He previously said they were planning to build "two new cities" around the canal.

Opposition parties and environmental groups have been opposing the project due to concerns over its possible environmental impact and economic costs.

The necessity of the project is also questioned as the canal runs parallel to the Bosphorus strait and will be about the same length as it.

Calling it "my crazy project," Erdoğan first revealed his intentions to build the canal in 2011. (DŞ/VK)