The Route of the Channel Istanbul Project Announced!

Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Ahmet Arslan stated that the studies on the Kanal Istanbul Project will continue on the Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor route from now on, and said, “ We aim to finish the tender processes and hit the digging this year. " said.

Minister of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Ahmet Arslan stated that the work on the Kanal Istanbul Project will continue on the Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor route from now on, and said, “The build-operate-transfer model is used with a mixed model including other alternatives of public-private We aim to finish the tender processes and hit the digging this year. " said.

Arslan said at the press conference at the Ministry where the route of the Kanal Istanbul Project was announced, within the scope of the earthquake risk assessment, all work was carried out considering the average recurrence times of 72 years, 475 years and 2 thousand 475 years.

Pointing out that the parameters related to the tsunami in the project were also determined, Arslan said that detailed studies were carried out in this scope and that no negative impact was determined in the preliminary report.

Arslan pointed out that modeling studies were carried out using wind data for about 25 years in the project area and said, “Wind and deep sea waves in the Black Sea and Marmara Sea entrances related to the project area were examined. The effects of waves that will occur from ship passages within the channel on the side surfaces of the channel have been evaluated according to the most unfavorable scenarios, and detailed studies are ongoing. he spoke.

10 thousand meters in the first stage of additional 7 thousand meters of drilling work has been done, so that the total 17 thousand meters of drilling has been completed by the end of 2017 Arslan pointed out, can be used as filling material within the framework of the needs of the excavation, he added.

• "All related projects will be evaluated together"

Arslan said that the lack of interaction with the water basin of Terkos Lake and the fact that Baklalı and Dursunköy residents are not negatively affected while the route works are being carried out, “Project areas that we can use as a logistics center on a global basis by filling the material that will come out in the Black Sea and also filling the Marmara Sea. All these projects, including artificial islands, will continue to be evaluated together. " said.

Arslan stated that they aim to pass the 3 passes on the Marmara side under the Küçükçekmece Lake with a dipped tube, as in the Marmaray project, and that they will make all other alternatives in the north direction as a bridge crossing.

• "We aim to hit digging this year"

Arslan, crossing across the long-distance, viaducts will not require transitions, noting, said:

“As a result of all these studies, taking into account all possible interactions on the Thrace side of our country, studies have been continued on 5 alternatives up to now. From now on, our work will continue along the Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor route, which is the 4th alternative that provides the most advantageous location. Our goal is to complete the tender processes this year with a mixed model, including the build-operate-transfer model and other alternatives of public-private cooperation, and we aim to dig digging this year. "

• "We should not confuse Montreux with this"

Answering the questions of the journalists after the press conference, Arslan explained that they considered some issues in the studies on Kanal Istanbul with importance, “One of them is that the project provides an advantage regarding ship crossings, the second is the planning that the life of the people on the route will not affect, and the third is the underground and aboveground work on fresh water resources was completed. " used the expressions.

Arslan, underlining that an amount that can be said before the end of the channel cross-sectional studies, including financing modeling, can be misleading in such a large project, said, “But there is a fact that the biggest project of our country is the Third Airport with a 10,5-year operation. It is the biggest project in the period with a rental price of 25 billion Euros. However, Kanal Istanbul will be bigger than that. " he spoke.

Arslan stated that the project itself will be built with build-operate-transfer model and integrated projects can be evaluated differently in the tender processes.

Arslan, on the question of whether there will be changes in the Montreux Straits Convention due to the project, said:

“Of course, the Montreux Straits Convention has provisions. The rules on how to use the throat are clear. The regime under which the Bosphorus is subject is different, the regime of the alternative waterway that our country will build and the two seas will be connected to each other. Of course, it will be the operating process, taking that into account. One should keep Montreux separate and not confuse it with it. "

Stating that Küçükçekmece Lake is not used as a fresh water source, Arslan said, “It will enter Küçükçekmece Lake and go up to the Black Sea. In a sense, we will connect the lake to the Black Sea and Marmara. " said.

Arslan thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım and related ministries for their contribution to the project.