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El gráfico muestra la ruta del Canal de Estambul.
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TRANSPORTE MARÍTIMO

Turquía construirá una vía navegable para evitar el paso por el Estrecho del Bósforo

June 24, 2018 - Están por comenzar las obras del mayor proyecto de infraestructura emprendido por Turquía: una vía navegable para evitar el paso por el congestionado Estrecho del Bósforo. Pero sus críticos temen que el Canal de Estambul, también conocido como Kanal Istanbul, dará como resultado un desastre ecológico.

With estimated costs of around $16 billion, the 45km-canal connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, is one of the most ambitious of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's engineering mega-projects.

He has said that if he wins a third term in snap elections, his government’s priority will be its construction.

The Bosphorus is one of world’s busiest waterways with 53,000 vessels passing through in 2017, compared with 17,000 in Suez Canal and 12,000 in Panama Canal.

Erdogan says the canal will take the pressure off the Bosphorus and prevent accidents there. He says “mega-projects”, such as Istanbul’s third airport, are major contributors to the economy.

But opponents and scientists say that the plans — which would turn Istanbul’s European side into an island — could displace thousands of people, destroy forests, threaten the city's fresh water supply and increase oxygen levels in Black Sea, impacting wildlife.

Besides the ecological impact, experts warn that there is an open question of whether or not such a canal would violate the Montreux Convention, a 1936 treaty that ensures the free passage of commercial vessels and naval ships of countries along the Black Sea.

Sources
PUBLISHED: 24/05/2018; STORY: Graphic News; PICTURES: Newscom
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