Turkish Forum

Tag: crazy project

  • AFP: Turkey plans new ‘quake-proof’ cities near Istanbul

    AFP: Turkey plans new ‘quake-proof’ cities near Istanbul

    (AFP) – 22 hours ago

    ISTANBUL — Turkey plans to build two new cities near Istanbul and relocate up to 1.5 million residents who are most at risk from a possible earthquake in the metropolis, the prime minister said on Wednesday.

    “Do not forget that Istanbul is under a major threat of an earthquake … This project would strengthen Istanbul’s preparedness,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in his televised remarks.

    “Around 1.5 million people will be moved to those cities. We want our people to contribute this project from their hearts, we want them to move voluntarily,” he added.

    The locations for the two satellite cities had been chosen after safety studies, Erdogan said, adding that one of them would be built on the shores of the Black Sea on the European side of the city.

    The second one would be on the Asian side of the Bosphorus Strait, Erdogan said, without giving any details.

    The construction of the two cities would begin after June’s parliamentary election, the premier added.

    Erdogan announced last month plans to build a water channel connecting the Black and Marmara seas as an alternative to the congested Bosphorus Strait. A third bridge would also be constructed over the Bosphorus, in northern Istanbul.

    The announcements come as part of a series of election pledges by the prime minister ahead of elections on June 12 in which his Islamist-rooted party is seeking a third straight term in power.

    Istanbul’s 13 million inhabitants live in constant fear of a major earthquake, which experts predict will hit Turkey’s largest metropolis in the near future with a magnitude of up to 7.2.

    In 1999 an earthquake, which measured 7.6 on the Richter scale, devastated Turkey’s most industrialised Marmara region, including some suburbs of Istanbul, and killed some 20,000 people.

    via AFP: Turkey plans new ‘quake-proof’ cities near Istanbul.

  • Another ‘Crazy Project’ for Istanbul

    Another ‘Crazy Project’ for Istanbul

    By Ayla Albayrak

    European Pressphoto Agency A graphic of a canal project, planned to be built through Istanbul.
    European Pressphoto Agency A graphic of a canal project, planned to be built through Istanbul.

    A graphic of a canal project, planned to be built through Istanbul.

    First, Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced what he called a “crazy” project to build a shipping canal parallel to the Bosporus strait. On Wednesday he outlined another one: to build two new earthquake resistant urban centers on the outskirts of Europe’s biggest metropolis, Istanbul.

    Mr. Erdogan’s idea is to build one of the cities along the Black Sea coast, on the European side of the Bosporus. The other would go on the Asian side.

    There’s a big element of electioneering here. Mr. Erdogan made both announcements as his governing Justice and Development, or AK Party prepares for elections to a third term in office on June 12, a vote that opinion polls suggest the AK Party will win.

    But few would write off Mr. Erdogan’s grand plans entirely, in an economy that grew 8.9% last year and an earthquake prone city whose population, by official estimates, is at least 13.5 million and growing fast.

    The promise is to build new, “more humane” housing and move residents to a safer area, away from “ugly buildings in neighborhoods with unsafe, narrow streets” in parts of Istanbul, Mr. Erdogan said at an election event in Istanbul. “If you think that (in an earthquake), damage of 100 billion could occur, we do not think this project would be too heavy a load for our country,” Mr. Erdogan said.

    In 1999, over 17 000 people were killed in an earthquake here. The epicenter was more than 100 kilometers from Istanbul, yet many of the casualties occurred in the city. Seismologists are forecasting another big one in the relatively near future.

    Completing the vast project would be a long-debated third bridge across the Bosporus, close to the Black Sea coast. The highways that feed that bridge would also connect the two new urban centers, Mr. Erdogan said. Istanbul would get a new airport with a capacity of 60 million passengers a year — roughly the size of London’s Heathrow.

    Feasibility studies will start right after the elections, and construction a year after, according to the prime minister. But he is looking for votes from architects or city planners, Mr. Erdogan is likely to be disappointed.

    “Istanbul has the capacity to grow up to 17 million, but this project could inflate it into a city of 25-30 million people. It paves way to serious and irreversible problems” such as suburban ghettos, said Eyup Muhcu, Istanbul head of the Chamber of Architects of Turkey.

    Mr. Muhcu also said that Mr. Erdogan is ignoring the city’s current plan, which bans construction in the forests and farmland along the Black Sea Coast. Much of the city’s drinking water comes from the area.

    via Another ‘Crazy Project’ for Istanbul – Emerging Europe Real Time – WSJ.