Kurum had said 'It is not on our agenda': Striking detail regarding the Kanal Istanbul Project!

AKP Chairman and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the Kanal Istanbul Project in 2011, calling it a 'crazy project,' and debates regarding it continue in the public eye and on the political agenda.

While AKP's Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality mayoral candidate Murat Kurum responded to questions about the Kanal Istanbul Project—which he had said 'We will build' during his time as minister—by saying 'It is not on our agenda,' the project has been listed among the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure's duties in its activity reports since 2018.

According to a report by Sarp Sağkal from Cumhuriyet, the project first appeared in the ministry's activity reports in 2014 alongside the Bakırköy-Beylikdüzü metro project. In the institution's 2017 activity report, the canal was reflected through the survey consultancy services it received. Regarding the same consultancy service, the institution's 2018 activity report stated, “The 2018 revised budget for Kanal Istanbul Survey Project and Consultancy Services is 17 million 851 thousand TL, and the survey project works have been completed by spending 17 million 737 thousand TL.”

In the reports issued after 2018, when the transition to the presidential government system took place, the definition “Development, establishment, and commissioning of Kanal Istanbul and similar waterway projects that connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and allow for the navigation of ships” was added to these statements, including Kanal Istanbul.

In the ministry's most recent 2023 activity report, the following information was shared regarding the canal: “Coordinated efforts with relevant institutions regarding the project are ongoing. In this context, since the zoning plan process for the project area is still underway, the target timeline has been extended and the determined progress percentage has not been reached.”

İMAMOĞLU HAD SAID 'THEY ARE HOLDING SECRET TENDERS'

Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu reacted to his rival Murat Kurum's 'It is not on our agenda' statement, claiming that secret tenders were being held.

İmamoğlu used the following expressions in his speech;

“If Istanbul falls into their hands, may God protect Istanbul. Look, look, dear Istanbulites; as you know, we have a very, very beautiful saying: Does a person with a habit ever give it up? They don't, they don't. You know, they are given a microphone. What do they say? ‘What is not on the nation's agenda cannot be on our agenda.’ What are they saying this for? They are saying it for Kanal Istanbul. Is that right? But shall I tell you? They are holding secret tenders and trying to move forward with Kanal Istanbul on the other hand. We will all be the guardians of Istanbul together, the guardians. Let them continue to hold these under-the-table tenders. But this nation will not be fooled by under-the-table dealings; it will teach them a lesson in democracy, showing that Istanbul is protected, that Istanbul will not be entrusted to one person but to 16 million, and on March 31, it will strike them in the face like a slap of democracy, a slap of democracy.”

News Source: 12punto