By Selcan Hacaoglu (Bloomberg) —
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the construction of a multi-billion dollar canal, an alternative to Istanbul’s Bosporus strait, will begin at the end of June as the pandemic continues to take its toll on the country’s ailing economy.
Erdogan’s announcement on Saturday came a decade after he first revealed his “crazy project” and at a time when his support has hit an all-time low. The 45-kilometer (28-mile) Canal Istanbul would cost around $15 billion and link the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, officials say.
The government says it is meant to ease shipping traffic and the risk of accidents in the Bosporus, which bisects Turkey’s biggest city.