Benelux countries aspire to Canal Istanbul

Cahit Turhan, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that the planning process for Canal Istanbul is about to be completed and "negotiations on financing are ongoing. The Chinese are also interested, but the most relevant are the Benelux countries. They are both technological and countries with work experience in this field.” Minister Turhan said the size of the project is $ 20 Billion.

Cahit Turhan, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, stated that the EIA process in the Canal Istanbul Project has been completed and that the planning process is about to end, “Financing conditions are more favorable this year compared to last year. Benelux countries are interested, we started negotiations”. Minister Turhan, who was a guest at the Hürriyet Ankara office, answered questions about the agenda. Stating that the EIA process has been completed and the planning process is about to end in Canal Istanbul, Minister Turhan said,” The Bosphorus, even the Dardanelles, are having difficulty in meeting the sea transportation demands. We have the capacity to spend 25 thousand ships per year in the Bosphorus. We go up to 40,000 under the best conditions. In 2013, 40 thousand, then went down to 35 thousand. Now this trend has started to increase. The economies of Asian countries will develop gradually, and when the goods produced in China and even the goods produced in North Asia are opened to the world through the ports in the Black Sea, there will be a demand for 70 thousand vehicles passing through the world. It is not possible to cross the Bosphorus. Canal Istanbul is a transportation project and it is essential for us to meet the demands of the passage in this strait”.

20 BILLION DOLLARS PROJECT

Turhan stated that they are continuing the negotiations about financing. “The Chinese are also interested, but the most relevant are the Benelux countries. They are both technological and countries with work experience in this field. They say they can get funding. This year, financing conditions are more favorable than last year. Currently, there is a financial market stuck in Europe, where interest rates are minus. We need to evaluate these environments well. A project worth $ 20 billion, depending on funding requirements. $ 5 billion of the project will be used for the displacement of the existing infrastructure for the roads, energy and transportation systems to be affected by the project. The first tender will be held for this. We expect an income of nearly one billion dollars per year from sea transportation.

THIRD TRACK IS ON 29 OCTOBER

Minister Turhan also made evaluations about Istanbul Airport and said that the construction of the third runway is continuing. "We're pushing for the June, however, seems to be put into service on October 29," said Minister Turhan. "Thus, Turkey will have the ability to landing simultaneously on three tracks where it is only applied in the USA. This will shorten taxi times. Critics of the new airport now have only one argument left. They say taxi times are too long. I measure it every time. It takes a maximum of 27-28 minutes. With the third track, this time will be much shorter.”

Gayrettepe Istanbul Metro lines will be put into service at the end of next year, indicating that Halkali line will be activated at the end of 2021, we will put into service, the Minister Turhan said. Turhan also said that the capacity to carry 350 thousand passengers per day will be reached in the direction of the airport and I can say that our domestic and national electric train works have reached the point of completion. The project continues at our TÜLOMSAŞ factory in Eskişehir. We will make test drives in 2020. After the first prototype, we will start mass production in line with the demands that will follow”.

“MR KADRİ ALSO ASKED FOR SİRKECİ BUT WE DIDN’T GIVE HIM AS WELL”

MINISTER Turhan, reminded of the discussions with Istanbul Metropolitan Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu, in the tender for renting warehouse areas in Haydarpaşa Station, said: “Istanbul Municipality asks for what we have in our hands since the old times. This is normal, natural. The request of the new president is also normal. Kadir Bey (Topbaş) also wanted Sirkeci, we did not give him. We couldn't, this is part of a system you serve, outbuildings. These areas are within the first degree SIT area and there is restriction of zoning. You cannot do business. You will exhibit cultural activities. We went to tender. Istanbul Municipality has a lot of places to do such activities. Go do it there. This is what we told Kadir Topbaş. You obtain licenses for such places from the municipality and its affiliated institutions. They use these places for commercial purposes. We say, there will be no eating and drinking here. You will have an exhibition. We have prepared our specification in such a zoning constraint. Istanbul Municipality, the tender file, except for the conditions we want to file. We have printed contracts. It has changed some statements, it does not meet the same thing we looked at, not the same legal term. I think you did it on purpose. Nobody makes that mistake.”

WE COMPLY WITH THE DECISION OF THE ECHR AT WIKIPEDIA CASE

MINISTER Turhan said about the case in Europe Court of Human Rights (ECHR) related to the Wikipedia trial period which is banned in Turkey: "So that took a turn, the local judicial process is complete the Court's supposed to handle it, but in spite of him, they also started the judicial process. Whatever the sanction of the ECHR decision, we have fulfilled the decisions of this court so far, we are a country that has brought it, and we obey it. We, as the state, will take measures against this kind of social media movements which are in a differentiating sense in the field, from false information on our nation, from this front.”