Turkey is to start construction this year of a 45 km canal to ease traffic on the Bosphorus. The Kanal Istanbul will also turn the European half of Istanbul into an island. The waterway – Turkey’s largest infrastructure project ever – will link the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara.
The canal will be 25 m deep and 250-1,000 m wide, depending on where the docks are located.
The number of ship accidents in the Bosphorus has increased over the years as traffic has picked up dramatically, with more than 40,000 transits along the waterway recorded in 2016 alone.
Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan described the canal plan as a “crazy project” when he first discussed the concept seven years ago.
