Government's Kanal Istanbul push: What was presented to Erdoğan? Here are the details of Kanal Istanbul...

Significant developments are taking place regarding the Kanal Istanbul project, which returned to the agenda following the arrest of presidential candidate Ekrem İmamoğlu. With the post made by İmamoğlu on the social media platform X, saying "You took advantage of my absence to start," eyes have turned back to the project.

While it emerged after the post that the construction of 24 thousand residences had begun in the Sazlıdere Dam basin, the statement made by the state's official disinformation combat account, DMM, argued that the tenders in question had nothing to do with İmamoğlu's detention.

PRESENTATION MADE TO ERDOĞAN ON FEBRUARY 27

A critical detail regarding the project emerged in a report by Nefes. It was learned that the technical presentation regarding Kanal Istanbul was made to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on February 27, 2025. The presentation to Erdoğan was carried out during his visit to the Başakşehir-Nakkaştepe Highway construction site.

Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu and Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum also attended the meeting. The technical details of the project were conveyed to Erdoğan by Yalçın Eyigün, General Manager of Infrastructure Investments at the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure.

TO BE COMPLETED IN 5 YEARS, COSTING 15 BILLION DOLLARS

According to the information in the presentation, the Kanal Istanbul project will be completed in 5 years. The total cost of the project was calculated at 15 billion dollars (approximately 570 billion liras). The project will be implemented through the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model. It was stated that all financing would be covered by the private sector.

MASSIVE DIMENSIONS AND GIANT BRIDGES

Kanal Istanbul will have a depth of 21 meters and a width of 360 meters. It was stated that the cost of the 6 bridges to be built within the scope of the project would be 1.4 billion dollars (approximately 53.2 billion liras).

HERE ARE THE DETAILS OF THE KANAL ISTANBUL PROJECT ACCORDING TO THE PRESENTATION

According to the information in the presentation, the Kanal Istanbul project;

Will be built in 5 years,

Its cost is expected to be 15 billion dollars (570 billion liras),

Will be built with Public-Private Partnership and will be realized entirely with private sector financing.

The canal will be 21 meters deep and 360 meters wide.

The cost of the 6 bridges is expected to be 1.4 billion dollars (53.2 billion liras).