Stating that the planning process for Kanal Istanbul is about to be completed, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Cahit Turhan said, “Negotiations on financing continue. The Chinese are also interested, but the Benelux countries are the most relevant. They are both technological and countries with work experience in this field. ” Minister Turhan said that the size of the project is 20 billion dollars.
Stating that the EIA process has been completed in the Kanal Istanbul Project and that the planning processes are about to end, Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Cahit Turhan said, “Financing conditions are more suitable this year compared to last year. Benelux countries are interested, we have started negotiations," he said. Minister Turhan, who was a guest at the Hürriyet Ankara office, answered questions about the agenda. Stating that the EIA process has been completed in Kanal Istanbul and that the planning process is about to come to an end, Minister Turhan said, “The Bosphorus, even the Dardanelles, have difficulties in meeting the demands of sea transportation. We have the capacity to pass 25 ships a year in the Bosphorus. We go up to 40 thousand under the best conditions. It increased to 2013 thousand in 40, then it decreased to 35 thousand. Now this trend has started to increase. The economy 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. It is not possible to pass through the Bosphorus. Kanal Istanbul is a transportation project and it is essential for us to meet the demands for passage in this strait.”
20 BILLION DOLLAR PROJECT
Stating that they are continuing negotiations on financing, Turhan said, “The Chinese are also interested, but the Benelux countries are the most relevant. They are both technological and countries with work experience in this field. They say they can find the financing as well. This year, financing conditions are more favorable than last year. There is a financial market stuck in Europe right now, even with interest rates down. We need to evaluate these environments well. It is a project that will reach $ 20 billion depending on financing conditions. $ 5 billion of the project will be used for the displacement of the existing infrastructure for environmental roads, energy and transportation systems that will be affected by the project. The first tender will be held for this. We expect a revenue of nearly one billion dollars a year from sea transportation. ”
(Benelux is a union based on a political and official cooperation, describing the geographical unity of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. The name “Benelux” is formed by combining the first syllables of the names of these three countries in their own language (BELGIË, NEDERLAND, LUXEMBURG)) – Hürriyet
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