Turkish architects union says Kanal Istanbul's construction to last longer, cost higher than stated

The cost of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "crazy project" Kanal Istanbul will top a whopping 75 billion liras, almost 10 billion over the promoted number, the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects Chambers (TMMOB) revealed. Meanwhile, the union also said that the Environment and Urbanization Ministry's projected time frame was also an underestimation.

Tuesday December 01 2020 03:29 pm

Duvar English

Excavation costs alone for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's "crazy project" Kanal Istanbul will sum up to a whopping 75 billion liras, a report by the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects Chambers (TMMOB) revealed, daily Evrensel reported on Dec. 1.

"The environmental impact report for Kanal Istanbul erroneously projected excavation costs as 69 billion liras, but the real cost would sum up to 75 billion liras," TMMOB Istanbul Chairman Mehmet Makar said.

The Environment and Urbanization Ministry's environmental impact report also falsely predicted the period of time it would take to dig up the canal.

"Different time frames are stated in different parts of the report. The amount of diggings also changes across the report, which would change costs," Makar said. "So the cost of Kanal Istanbul will be higher than promised, and the time it takes to construct will be longer."

The TMMOB felt obliged to release their findings because of Erdoğan's Nov. 27 statement that the project was in its final stages, TMMOB Istanbul Committee Chairman Cevahir Efe Akçelik said.

There are currently five lawsuits about Kanal Istanbul where TMMOB is the plaintiff, and it was illegal and incorrect for the president to claim that the project had been finalized, Akçelik noted.