Turkish President Erdogan: "Canal Construction in Istanbul to Begin from June"

Aiming to Reverse Plummeting Approval Ratings Amid COVID-19 Economic Crisis
Istanbul Mayor Strongly Opposes "Severe Environmental Damage"

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced plans to construct a large-scale canal around the capital Istanbul starting next month, sparking growing controversy within Turkish politics. The mayor of Istanbul, known as Erdogan's political rival, is strongly opposing the canal project. Additionally, concerns have been raised that it will be difficult to carry out such a massive national project amid the recent COVID-19 crisis and economic difficulties caused by the collapse of the Turkish lira.

According to foreign media including Bloomberg on the 30th (local time), President Erdogan stated at a press conference the day before, "We will officially begin construction of the Istanbul Canal from the end of June," adding, "Two cities will be built on the right and left sides of the Istanbul Canal, and these cities will enhance Istanbul's beauty and strategic importance." The Turkish government had approved the project plan in March. Bloomberg reported that this project is one of the major pledges Erdogan has promoted since taking office.

The Istanbul Canal construction project involves creating an artificial waterway 45 km in total length and 400 meters wide between the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea surrounding Istanbul. Once completed, a new waterway will be created about 30 to 40 km west of the current natural strait, the Bosporus. The Turkish construction industry estimates the construction cost of the project to be around $16 billion (approximately 17.7824 trillion KRW).

Bloomberg analyzed, "Amid the economic recession caused by the COVID-19 impact and the collapse of the Turkish lira, Erdogan's approval rating has hit an all-time low, and the canal construction is being promoted as a national project to recover support," adding, "The Erdogan government expects that by creating jobs and promoting economic growth through the canal construction, Erdogan's popularity can be restored ahead of the 2023 Turkish presidential election."

However, since the Istanbul mayor, known as a potential presidential rival to Erdogan, is strongly opposing the canal project, it is expected to be difficult to push the project forward in the short term. Earlier, Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu expressed opposition to the canal construction, stating, "The canal construction could devastate Istanbul's water resources and damage nature to an irreparable extent." In addition, concerns have been raised about the financing of the canal construction, which requires massive funds amid a shortage of foreign currency reserves caused by the sharp decline of the lira.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.