64 percent of Istanbulites opposed to 'crazy' Kanal Istanbul project
A survey by Istanbul Municipality has revealed that more than 60 percent of the city's residents don't support President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "crazy" Kanal Istanbul project. The most common concerns about the artificial canal were water resources and earthquake risks.
Duvar English
A survey conducted by Istanbul Municipality revealed that 64.2 percent of Istanbulites are opposed to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "crazy project" Kanal Istanbul, with a majority citing water resources and earthquake risks as their primary concern about the artificial canal project.
While 36.8 percent of the 606,291 survey respondents said Kanal Istanbul would be beneficial, the overwhelming majority said they were opposed to it.
Meanwhile, 67.1 percent of respondents said that Kanal Istanbul wasn't a pressing need for the city, with only 32.9 percent saying that they considered the construction of the canal urgent.
Lastly, some 64.2 percent of respondents said that they didn't support the construction project.
Some 19 percent think that the artificial canal that would split Thrace in half could cause water shortages as it's a massive rerouting of the Black Sea into the inland Marmara Sea.
Some 18.9 percent said they were afraid the canal would increase risks related to a potential earthquake, while 17.4 percent said they were concerned about the destruction of the ancient remains in the area.
Meanwhile 15.2 percent said they were worried about the canal violating Montreux Treaty concerning the Istanbul Bosphorus and the Dardenelles straits.
Forty percent of respondents said that they think the 100 billion Turkish Liras which is planned to be allocated to Kanal Istanbul should be used to strengthen the city's infrastructure to prepare for a potential earthquake.