New Bosphorus
Have you heard of the Istanbul New Channel project or the so-called “Al-Asr” project?
What is the Istanbul Channel project and what is its location?
It is a project of a waterway parallel to the Bosphorus Strait, extending in western Istanbul and connecting the Black Sea channel north of Istanbul to the Sea of Marmara in the south 45 km long and 150 m wide and up to 25 m deep.
The canal begins south from Lake Kucukcekmece, a natural lake, extending north to the sazlıdere Dam, then the village of Shamler, all the way to the Black Sea.
What is the importance of the Istanbul Economic Channel and what are the benefits to Turkey?
According to projections and studies, the Istanbul Canal will give Turkey a great advantage in the international transport trade
The Istanbul Canal will affect the prices of the surrounding land, as the price per meter of land has risen to $184 out of $6.50, and in other areas the price has reached $800.
The new Istanbul Canal will also result in strong material income for Turkey other than the Bosphorus Strait, from which ships pass without paying any fees, and according to the Turkish government’s expectations, the Istanbul Canal project will represent the income of more than eight billion dollars a year, in exchange for tariffs paid by ships to pass through it, since the canal will not be subject to the Montreux Agreement, which provides for freedom of navigation in the Black Sea Straits, including the Bosphorus..
Accordingly, it will benefit Turkey and transfer it significantly and give it a competitive advantage in the field of international transport trade.
Area around Istanbul Canal
A city will be built around the new Istanbul Canal project and will be one of the most important landmarks that will play a major role in increasing profits in the tourism, commercial and investment sector and a major development in real estate construction in the area around the new Istanbul Canal.
Some information has emerged about the city to be built around the new Istanbul Canal
- The city will include a large part of the 39 million square meters of agricultural land intended for construction in Arnautkoy.
- A 2 million square meter logistics center will be set up near the entrance to the Istanbul Canal on the Black Sea coast.
- A large medical center will be established in the Baklalı region, which will provide health services in all medical and therapeutic specialties, as well as a hospital, health guidance center and spas.
- Water and botanical gardens, pedestrian and bike routes will be built in green spaces, to be built near Lake Tekros with an area of 1.5 million square meters.
- Two smart cities will be built on the basis of horizontal architecture, with a maximum population of 500,000 people. The two cities will have construction standards, including low horizontal architecture, with a maximum height of 5 floors and low population density.
· What will push ships to cross from the new Istanbul Canal and have to pay the fees with another strait from which they are entitled to pass free of charge!
· The Bosphorus is one of the busiest waterways. It has the highest navigation density in the world.
The average annual movement of ships in the Bosphorus Strait is about 40,000 ships per year. The Bosphorus Strait has a capacity of only 25,000 ships per year. In 2019 alone, 53,000 civilian and military vessels passed through the Bosphorus, compared to 17,000 that passed through the Suez Canal and 12,000 passed through the Panama Canal.
· There have been many serious incidents due to this increase, disrupting the movement of ships and causing enormous losses to the world’s economic movement.
· In this case, the departure of ships to the new Istanbul Canal, which is characterized by fast traffic, would be the best and logical option..
· This takes us to the revenues from it to Turkey...
· According to economic estimates, the new Istanbul Canal project will be a source of income and strong financial profit for Turkey and will be compensation for the funds deprived of the Bosphorus strait due to the Montreux Agreement.
· It is estimated that the profits of the new Istanbul canal will be in the range of 8 billion dollars a year, and that the revenues will cover the cost of the entire project within two years. Turkey will be the only one in control of it politically and economically, and the canal will not be subject to any agreements, unlike the Bosphorus.
· Through the Istanbul Canal project, Turkey aims to reserve its position among the top 10 countries in the world.
· Do business owners care about this project? What’s the point?
· Turkey will create a new strategic location, a striking and distinctive site and will have a great impact in encouraging internal and external investment of Turkey and the new Istanbul Canal will provide many and great opportunities in real estate investment and real estate projects, will be an excellent site for the construction of residential projects, restaurants, malls and hotels overlooking the canal, making it a great opportunity to invest real estate in this area characterized by its view.
· The date of the project’s launch
· The idea of the new Istanbul Canal project has been put forward at least 7 times throughout history.
· The oldest dates back to the reign of Sultan Suleiman al-Qanawi, and then the idea moved to the sultans after him but was not implemented because of many obstacles.
· Until the Turkish government announced in 2011 its intention to implement the project, then began the first phase of implementation in 2013 and is expected to be the total opening of the channel in 2025
· Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the first bridges of the Istanbul Canal project will be laid in late June.
· The Istanbul Canal project was first announced 12 years ago, he said, adding: “We can’t wait any longer, because we will build six bridges over the canal.”
· “Now we’re going to lay the foundation stone for the first bridge so we can speed up the pace of work, and then we’re going to lay the foundation stones for the other five bridges.”
· “I want to create new human beings as part of the Istanbul Canal project,” he said, adding that “two giant cities will be built on both sides of the canal, with 250,000 houses each, and will serve as a whole city in the heart of a city.”
· He noted that 200 scientists are working with the project and preparing the necessary plans to preserve the natural and cultural values in the project’s construction area.
· He added that the government will continue with the intention of completing the project “New Istanbul Canal”, pointing out the possibility of cooperation of Turkish and foreign companies to implement it, in accordance with the model of “construction, operation and transformation”.
· Turkey plans to build the “New Istanbul Canal” on the European side of the city, after the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul has been transformed into one of the most sensitive sea straits for cargo ships, as a result of traffic congestion..