Turkish ministry forbids construction of docks along coastline

Turkey's Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum sent out a decree to local governments on April 9 that forbade the construction of docks along the country's coastline. An exception for the restriction was made for areas where the natural landscape does not allow for visitors to get in the water with ease.

Friday April 09 2021 12:00 pm

Duvar English

Turkey's Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum sent a decree to local governments across the country on April 9 that forbade the construction of docks along coastlines.

The ministry will allow for docks in areas where the coast doesn't allow for visitors to enter the water with ease or spend time by the sea, the decree noted.

The decree also universally forbade the construction of closed docks and for vehicles to approach the dock, the daily Hürriyet reported.

"Recreational docks will be constructed from environmentally conscious materials like wood that can be deconstructed," the minister said in the decree.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has a rather notorious environmental track record, with countless construction projects being signed off in state tenders without proper assessment or blatant disregard of their environmental impact.