Turkey is planning significant new maritime access in the form of a possible game-changing canal linking the Black Sea more effectively to the Mediterranean.

The proposed Canal Istanbul is backed by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who during the just-concluded election campaign stressed the importance of the canal, calling it a “world brand.” He later drew a parallel to the Panama Canal.

Istanbul’s canal is meant to provide relief for shipping traffic between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, particularly oil tanker traffic passing through the Bosphorus. There is some skepticism about whether it will ultimately be built and some concern about the cost, which is put at US$13 billion.

The 45-kilometre canal, to be built in Istanbul’s Kucukcekmece-Sazlidere-Durusu corridor, will have a capacity of 160 vessels a day and is scheduled to be completed by 2023, Turkey’s centennial.

“If we don’t want to see other tanker or mansion disasters in the Bosphorus” – a cargo vessel crossing through the Bosphorus crashed into a waterside mansion in April – “I remind you once again why building Canal Istanbul is a must,” Erdogan said. “We are building Canal Istanbul to avoid such incidents,” he said, according to the official Anadolu news agency.

Erdogan stressed that the canal is a strategic developmental project. Others include one of the world’s largest airports, and a three-level underwater tunnel connecting the European and Asian sides of Istanbul. There is a certain grandeur to Turkey’s proposed infrastructure.

One reason the government can focus on such large-scale plans is a basic view within the shipping and ports sectors that, some quibbles aside, Turkey does not need a major port building programme.

“All major port regions in Turkey have received considerable amounts of investment in the last five years from Turkish and foreign investors. Some of these terminals are ready to host the last-generation mega vessels. These investments will continue in the coming years and there will be no major capacity or capability issues,” a Port Operators Association of Turkey representative told Asia Cargo News.

This is particularly true of Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city with some 15 million people and its commercial centre, where the European side is served by Ambarli Port and Asya Port and the Asian side is served by several ports in the Gebze-Izmit area.

“Both port regions have ample capacity and growth plans to cope with the next 10 years,” the association added.

Some, such as YILPORT, the port division of Turkey’s YILDIRIM Group, which aims to become a top-10 terminal operator worldwide, go further. A YIPORT representative pointed out to Asia Cargo News that fast-paced economic growth in Turkey led to many new terminal projects, maybe too many, being developed over the years. “These have caused an overcapacity in some regions of Turkey,” the representative told Asia Cargo News.

Paradoxically, ports are still needed, or will be, in other parts of the country.

“The new ports are needed mainly at the East-Med/south of Turkey area. There is a big potential for transhipment cargo. The Mersin-Iskenderun area is the main gate for not only the southeast of Turkey, but also for Syria, Iraq and Iran cargo which is coming from Med-Europe-West/North Africa/America,” said YILPORT.

One condition is attached to this, and this is a problem Turkey must contend with: the country’s proximity to the Middle East makes it vulnerable to the turmoil of the region, with YILPORT adding as a caveat that this capacity will be needed “after things are settled down in the Middle East.”

Some problems though remain; typically, on-land connectivity is an issue.

“Road connections are okay, but only a few terminals have rail connections, and even those terminals handle very small volumes with railways. Regulations are still missing for private rail operators,” the Port Operators Association of Turkey spokesperson said.

A fuller, more nuanced version of this, although one basically agreeing with it, comes from YILPORT, which pointed out that Turkey’s problems are not its “quite impressive” new highways, but the cost of operating on them.

“Being a fuel-importing country causes the inland trucking cost to not be very competitive after 200 km, and that causes a need for railroads and efficient transfer platforms,” it said.

“Turkey needs to develop domestic logistics and infrastructure, mainly for railways. The privatization of railway cargo management is still pending over five years. There is a need of new railroads and better platforms-rail hubs inside the Anatolia,” the YILPORT spokesperson added.

By Michael Mackey

Correspondent | Istanbul