Turkey to build waterway to bypass Bosphorus Straits

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Turkey to build waterway to bypass Bosphorus Straits

 

http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/52360000/gif/_52360870_bosphorus_april11.gif

 

Turkey will build a new waterway to bypass the heavily congested Bosphorus Strait, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced.

 

He said the 150m-wide (492ft) "Canal Istanbul" would link the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara that opens to the Aegean Sea via the Dardanelles.

 

Mr Erdogan said the canal would be about 45km-long (31 miles), describing it as "the greatest project of the century".

 

He did not disclose the exact location.

 

The prime minister made the announcement during campaigning ahead of June's elections.

 

The Bosphorus - the world's narrowest strait used for international navigation - divides Europe from Asia.

 

The strait's shores are heavily populated as Istanbul - Turkey's largest city - straddles it.

 

BBC, 27.04.11