Turkey's main opposition leader urges foreign countries not to invest in Canal İstanbul
Kılıçdaroğlu spoke at a climate meeting organized by the İstanbul Municipality on Friday. (Photo: AA)
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Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) Chair Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has sent letters to the diplomatic missions in Turkey about the Canal İstanbul project.
"Our water, our soil and our nature are everything to us; I will not let them to be destroyed," Kılıçdaroğlu wrote on Twitter on Friday (November 5).
☞ Canal İstanbul is a planned artificial waterway running parallel to the Bosphorus strait to link the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Opposition parties, scientists and environmental groups have strongly opposed the project, citing its possible environmental and economic impact.
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In his letter to the embassies, Kılıçdaroğlu argued that the ecological destruction to be causes project would hurt not only İstanbul but also the entire world.
"In a period where the entire world is struggling with the devastating effects of the climate crisis, supporting a project like Canal İstanbul, which will disrupt the integrity of the ecosystem and cause irreversible damage to nature, is in stark contrast to protecting nature and combating the climate crisis," he wrote.
"Investors in your country should not support a project like Canal İstanbul, which is an act against the climate of the world in every aspect. This will cause irreparable damage to the climate of the world, as well as with our country.
"... It is my duty to protect the climate, air, water and soil of my country. And I am calling on you to protect the world."
Canal İstanbulPresident Recep Tayyip Erdoğan mentioned the planned canal for the first time as "my crazy project" in 2011, when he was still the prime minister. The basic information as to the project was shared with the public at a press conference in Haliç Congress Center in 2011. The plan foresaw an artificial sea-level waterway that would connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara. The most important aspect of the project was the integration of transportation. The construction of 3rd Bosphorus bridge foreseen by the project has been completed. In May 2016, 32 articles of 20 laws were amended. An additional article added to the Pasture Law has paved the way for the region's zoning for construction. With another amendment introduced to the law, it has been understood that the access roads to the Canal İstanbul will be toll roads. Ahmet Arslan, the then Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications, announced the route of the project in 2018. He said that the canal would form an artificial waterway from the Black Sea to Marmara Sea, covering 45 kilometers from Küçükçekmece Lake through Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor. The process of Environmental Impact AssessmentThe Board of Inspection and Survey of the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization approved the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Report of the Canal İstanbul project on December 23, 2019. Accordingly, the report was presented to the public at the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization and İstanbul Provincial Directorate of Environment and Urbanization for 10 days. The citizens submitted petitions of objection against the project within this period. On January 17, 2020, Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum announced that they approved the EIA report of Canal İstanbul. |
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