President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Tuesday stressed the importance of the Canal Istanbul project, calling it a "world brand."
Speaking at a ceremony presenting his ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's Istanbul candidates, Erdoğan said the project would help avoid environmental disaster in the Turkish Straits.
The planned canal is meant to provide relief to shipping traffic between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara, particularly oil tanker traffic passing through the Bosphorus.
The 45-kilometer (nearly 28-mile) canal, to built in Istanbul's Küçükçekmece-Sazlıdere-Durusu corridor, is to boast 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, I remind you once again why building Canal Istanbul is a must," Erdoğan said.
On April 7, a ship hit the shore of the Bosphorus Strait and crashed into a historic Istanbul mansion, causing extensive damage.
"We are building Canal Istanbul to avoid such incidents," Erdoğan said.
The president stressed the canal is a strategic developmental project.
He added that if the project were halted, this would endanger the Bosphorus' future.
- TOURİST NUMBERS SOARING
Later, campaigning in the northwestern province of Tekirdağ, Erdoğan said this year Turkey hopes to attract 40 million tourists, adding that under AK Party rule tourist numbers have soared from 13 million to 35 million.
He added that if they are elected for another term on June 24, they hope to attract 50 million tourists annually within the next five years.
"You already know Istanbul, but on Oct. 29, you will see a new Istanbul," Erdoğan said, as that day Istanbul is due to open its long-awaited third airport.
"This airport will have the capacity for 90 million passengers a year. We hope to increase this capacity to 150 million by 2023," he added.
He said that the world will admire the new airport, and the number of tourists will skyrocket.
Once all its sections are completed in 2025, it will be the world's largest airport with a 200-million passenger capacity, and will spread across 76.5 million square meters (251 million square feet).
Some 250 airlines are set to fly out of the airport to more than 350 destinations.
