Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who has been speaking of a “crazy project” developed for Istanbul for months, finally announced the details of the project on Wednesday, April 27, to reveal that the project would involve the creation of a second strait in the city to minimize the affects of tanker collisions and flooding.

Erdogan publicly announced the details of his long-anticipated crazy project, saying the government would create a new Bosporus in Istanbul. The new project, called Kanal Istanbul, seeks to fortify the city against natural disasters.

He said the project was multi-dimensional, incorporating a variety of areas ranging from energy, transportation, urban planning, employment and even education. According to him, the location and the cost estimates for the project were more or less certain. “We are building a canal of approximately 45-50 kilometers in the west of Istanbul between the Black Sea and the Marmara,” he said.

He said the water level of the canal would be about 25 meters, while the width of the water service will be around 150 meters.

He said 150 vessels on average will pass through the new canal, and the Bosporus will return to its glory as a natural center for water sports and for the city's internal transportation, Today’s Zaman reported.