Canal İstanbul threat allegations show 'environmental assessment should be canceled'

Lake Büyükçekmece is planned to be the starting point of the canal's southern end. (Photo: AA/File)

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The environmental impact assessment of the Canal (Kanal) İstanbul project should be canceled after recent allegations of threat, the Union of Chamber of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB/UCTEA) said in a statement today (January 29).

An academic who led a team tasked to prepare a report in 2013 told a court that he was asked by authorities to make changes in the report and received threats after refusing to do so, the Diken website reported yesterday.

CLICK - Canal İstanbul expert claims to be threatened after refusing to make changes in report

"The EIA process of the Canal İstanbul project has been carried out in violation of the law and scientific and technical principles and the EIA report prepared as a result of this process is erroneous," said TMMOB.

After the cancellation of the EIA process, the case against it should also be dropped, it noted.

"The project has scientific and technical drawbacks and it shouldn't be carried out. The EIA report of the project is questionable.

"The report has been prepared not by scientific data but by instructions and the public is being lied to with this report.

"Scientific corruption in a project with such a large impact area, which is said to be made for the public interest, is absolutely unacceptable and unforgivably before history. It means the abuse of duty."

The academic also said in his petition that he was asked to "review his reservations" at an unofficial meeting at the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization's İstanbul directorate.

"Public institutions directing and putting pressure on academia in line with its political demands by setting up closed meetings is a crime against the society," said the statement. "This project is a rental project dictated to the people and insisting on its construction will leave a large region, especially the city of İstanbul, with an irreversible ecological destruction."

The EIA report for the Canal İstanbul project was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanism on January 17, 2020.

Accordingly, the project would cost 75 billion lira (~10 billion USD) and a new residential area for 500,000 people would be established.

On January 18, the TMMOB İstanbul Provincial Coordination Committee filed an appeal against the project, alleging that the experts picked for the project were not impartial and objective.

Latest developments about Canal İstanbul

Tender won by Rönesans Group

The tender lodged by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure Directorate General of Highways for constructing the "Northern Marmara Highway (including 3rd Bosphorus Bridge) Project Nakkaş-Başakşehir (including link roads) section" with build-operate-transfer model is won by Rönesans Group, which also undertook the construction of Presidential Complex in Ankara.

Afterwards, it has been understood that these roads are the roads of "New City" (Yenişehir) which will be constructed as part of Canal İstanbul.

Nadir Ataman, an İstanbul Metropolitan Municipal Council member from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), has said, "With the road tender lodged with the model of build-operate-transfer, it is seen that citizens will pay even to see the Canal İstanbul New City."

Drinking water basin zoned for construction

According to the 3rd stage plans of Canal İstanbul project covering 10 villages, Sazlıdere Dam, which partly meets İstanbulites' water needs, will be completely destroyed as it will be a part of the canal.

With these plans, the drinking water basins around the dam will also be zoned for construction. It is understood that when plans were still pending evaluation and objection, annotations were put on the title deeds of citizens.

The plans also foresee the construction of buildings with "a ground floor + 3 floors" around Canal İstanbul.

İt is also seen that no solutions have been developed to save the Şahintepe - Yarımburgaz Cave, where the first settled life started in the region 400 thousand years ago. In the current situation, Yarımburgaz Caves might be destroyed as a result of the project.

The 3rd stage plans of the project cover an area of 5 thousand 893 hectares and 10 villages, namely Çilingir, Dursunköy, Hacımaşlı, Hadımköy, Haraççı, Sazlıbosna, Güvercintepe, Kayabaşı, Şahintepe and Şamlar.

The village settlements it Hacımaşlı, Sazlıbosna and Çilingir and agricultural fields in Dursunköy and Şamlar are also a part of the plan.

An agricultural field of 10 thousand hectares will be lost

With these plans, several agricultural fields, pasturelands and several other sites have been zoned for construction. While a road is to be build on Çilingir Village Cemetery, the villages on the route of Canal İstanbul project have been completely changed with the new plans.

According to the data of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, when the 1 to 100,000 Scale Environmental Plan for İstanbul dated 2009 is examined, it is seen that the total amount of agricultural land was 11 thousand 218 hectares.

However, when the plan change as to Canal İstanbul in 2020 is examined, this figure drops to 733 hectares. In other words, an agricultural field of 10 thousand 485 hectares will be lost as a result of the project.

In the plan dated 2009, the total amount of forestland was indicated as 2 thousand 984 hectares; but, when the plan change dated 2020 is examined, it is seen that this figure also drops to 2 thousand 134 hectares. So, with Canal İstanbul project, a forestland of 850 hectares will be lost.

As for pasturelands, it will drop from its former amount of 497 hectares to zero (0) in 2020. That being the case, the villagers living in the region will no longer have lands to graze their animals when the project is completed.

While the planned land in the project site was 12 thousand 509 hectares, it has increased to 35 thousand 714 hectares after Canal İstanbul project, which will lead to construction in and around the project site.

While an area of 2 thousand 526 hectares is now open to construction in the region, this figure has reached 9 thousand 446 hectares with the project.

It foresees 1.2 million additional population to come to the city.

CLICK - What does draft legislation on Canal İstanbul foresee? What are the latest developments?

(TP/VK)