Environment minister says Kanal İstanbul not on agenda amid renewed controversy

Turkish Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum has said a controversial project for the construction of an artificial sea-level waterway in İstanbul is “not on our agenda,” even as the recent detention of senior İstanbul city officials who opposed the megaproject has reignited the debate over the project.

“There is no Kanal İstanbul-related issue on our agenda right now. We’ve said this before,” Kurum told reporters ahead of the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday.

The minister was responding to questions about housing developments in the Sazlıdere watershed, a region in İstanbul seen as highly vulnerable to the environmental consequences of the proposed canal.

While the government insists that Kanal İstanbul is not currently being pursued, critics say the project is far from abandoned and point to the recent detention and subsequent arrest of some İstanbul city officials as proof that opposition to it is still being punished.

More than 50 people including high-ranking city officials, deputy secretaries-general, department heads and executives from city water utility İSKİ were detained over the weekend on accusations of forming and leading a criminal organization, rigging public tenders, bribery and aggravated fraud, allegations that critics say are politically motivated. Eighteen of them were put in pre-trial detention on Wednesday.

Following the detentions, part of an ongoing government crackdown on the main opposition Republican People’s Party(CHP), acting İstanbul mayor Nuri Aslan, who was appointed after the arrest of the city’s mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu last month, said the detainees had been actively working to safeguard İstanbul’s water resources and urban planning integrity, both of which would be threatened by the canal.

“These teams were working in the public interest to stop illegal construction in one of İstanbul’s critical water basins,” Aslan said during a recent press conference. “Their detention is not only unjust but politically motivated, clearly tied to their opposition to Kanal İstanbul.”

İmamoğlu, the CHP’s presidential candidate and most powerful political rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, through a statement shared on social media condemned the operation as an attempt to “fill empty files with lies and slander,” accusing the government of turning the judiciary into a political weapon.

He described the detainees as “guardians of İstanbul” who fought against illegal construction and opposed the controversial Kanal İstanbul project that many warn will have disastrous consequences for the environment.

İmamoğlu, whose 2019 and 2024 election victories dealt President Erdoğan rare political defeats, was detained on March 19 on accusations of corruption, seen as politically motivated. He was put in pre-trial detention on March 23. His detention and arrest led to mass protests across the country unseen since 2013.

Kurum also denied that the housing developments in question were linked to the canal, saying they were part of a social housing initiative for Turkish citizens.

“A lottery was held, and every buyer is a Turkish citizen,” he said. “Claims that these homes are being sold to Arabs or other foreign nationals are baseless.”

He also dismissed reports that Kanal İstanbul is being advertised in Arab countries. “I don’t know what kind of ads are being shown in those countries,” Kurum said. “The opposition cherry-picks narratives to suit their agenda.”

Kurum, who unsuccessfully ran against İmamoğlu in the local elections in March 2024, gave evasive answers during his campaign when asked about the project, occasionally saying that the canal is “not on their agenda,” in an apparent attempt to retain the support of voters opposed to the project.

Kanal İstanbul was first proposed over a decade ago by Erdoğan, who called it his “crazy project.”

Construction of the canal started on June 26, 2021.

While Erdoğan and his AKP government claim the channel is necessary for the safety of İstanbul’s Bosporus Strait, which sees heavy marine traffic, critics of the project argue it is aimed at generating money for pro-AKP circles and will damage the environment and could even worsen the earthquake risk in the city of more than 15 million.

The city was shaken by a magnitude 6.2 earthquake on April 23, which did not lead to any serious damage or deaths but has renewed fears about a potential stronger earthquake.

New pro-İmamoğlu protest to target Kanal İstanbul

The CHP, which is preparing to hold its third major Wednesday night rally in İstanbul since İmamoğlu’s arrest, is aiming to highlight the Kanal İstanbul project during the high-profile protest this evening in Başakşehir, near the proposed route of the canal.

The rally is also intended to show solidarity with city council members and other municipal officials who are in pretrial detention.

CHP leader Özgür Özel said on Tuesday that the rally will expose both the motives behind the recent detentions and arrests and the persistence of Kanal İstanbul on the government’s agenda despite public denials.

“They say the AKP has abandoned Kanal İstanbul, but just yesterday [Monday] they released new aerial footage of the project,” Özel said in his Tuesday statement. “Helicopters are surveying the route. The government is still moving forward.”

“We invite everyone to join us in Başakşehir at 8:30 p.m.,” he added, “as we defend our mayor, our institutions and our city’s future.”