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, Bloomberg reports.
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.
Erdogan is betting that the building of the canal and the rise of new cities along its route will create thousands of jobs and wealth that will dramatically boost the country’s economic growth and reverse the slide of his popularity ahead of the 2023 presidential elections.
Discontent has grown over the Erdogan government’s handling of the economy and over allegations of corruption from a mafia boss, which he’s dismissed.
