Istanbul. June 26. INTERFAX-Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday launched the construction of the Istanbul Canal, which will connect the Marmara and Black Seas and become a stand-in for the Bosphorus Strait.
"The construction of the Istanbul Canal is planned to be completed in six years. The cost of the project is estimated at about $15 billion, " Erdogan said at the groundbreaking ceremony of the first bridge over the canal.
The length of the channel will be 45 km, the minimum width is 245 m, the depth is about 21 m.
Erdogan noted that the new channel will ensure greater security for Istanbul, as more and more ships pass through the natural waterway between the seas - the Bosphorus Strait - every year, which "carry a potential risk".
"If any ship with cargo, including oil, suffers a disaster on the Bosphorus, a powerful blow will be dealt to the ecology of Turkey," the president explained.
According to Erdogan, the Istanbul channel is the most optimal of all the alternatives that the Turkish authorities faced.
