Kanal Istanbul Will Be Built In 5 Years With Build-Operate-Transfer Model

Making a statement about the agenda in the special broadcast of TRT News, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Adil Karaismailoğlu emphasized that they have made plans for 5 years, not daily, 10-100 years, and that Kanal Istanbul is a product of the Logistics Master Plan

Karaismailoğlu, why do we need Kanal Istanbul? The Black Sea has now become a commercial lake. Countries in the Black Sea make large investments in their ports. We also make large investments in our ports within the scope of the Logistics Master Plan. World trade volume is 10 billion dollars a day, it will increase to 10 billion dollars in 35 years. 90 percent of these loads are transported by sea. We have to turn the advantages of our country's geographical location into opportunities. "

“Marmara, Istanbul is a super logistics area. You have to look at the whole picture. Turkey is at the crossroads of Asia, Europe and Africa. Because of this geographical location of Turkey, we need to turn the advantages it has into opportunities. We have implemented many projects one by one, such as the Istanbul airport, highways, the Middle Corridor, and the integration of the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway line into Marmaray. Now, trains from China to Europe arrive via our country. Our export trains go from Russia to China. We activated the Middle Corridor. "

"Kanal Istanbul will be built in 5 years, and will provide employment for 500 thousand people"

Karaismailoğlu, who stated that the volume of ships passing through Istanbul has grown and the number reached 50 thousand, and that there are also 2 thousand various purpose boats, this number is much higher than the capacity, pointed out that in the future, so many ships will not be able to pass through the Bosphorus. when it is not possible to pass, they will start to wait and be in line. As an alternative waterway is Kanal Istanbul, they will use it here. "said.

"It will not burden the budget to be built with the Build-Operate-Transfer Model"

Karaismailoğlu, who pointed out that 19 thousand ships pass through the Suez Canal annually and 3.6 billion income is earned annually, made the following assessment:

“The cost of Kanal Istanbul is approximately 15 billion dollars. These numbers will decrease when the tender is made. With the build-operate-transfer model, we will do this project without imposing a burden on the general budget. Here, we will create an eco-system with income generating centers. Our Ministry will undertake the operation. We aim to put Kanal Istanbul into operation in five years. Our country will become the leading country in logistics mobility. "

"Our country will become the leading country that shapes logistics mobility"

Stating that they will lay the foundation of the first bridge in Kanal Istanbul by the end of June 2021, Karaismailoğlu said, “We have 6 bridges in total. Kanal Istanbul will provide employment to 500 thousand people during construction. " said.

Karaismailoğlu, who also responded to the criticisms about Kanal Istanbul, reminded that the project was prepared with nearly 200 scientists and that the opposing mentality opposed mega projects such as the Bosphorus Bridge and the Eurasia Tunnel, "Kanal Istanbul is a superpower in the world, a country with a say, in logistics. It is indispensable to be a country that has a say. Doing this takes courage, strength, willpower. " said.