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A giant new canal for the world鈥檚 biggest ships is the most ambitious engineering plan yet proposed by Turkey鈥檚 President Erdogan, whose massive infrastructure projects have already changed the face of his country. The proposed waterway would slice through Istanbul, creating in effect a second Bosphorus, the busy shipping lane that is now the only outlet from the Black Sea. The president himself has called the project 鈥渃razy鈥�. But he says it would 鈥渟ave the future of Istanbul鈥�, easing traffic in the Bosphorus and reducing the risk of a terrible accident there. But the plan has met a storm of opposition. Istanbul鈥檚 mayor says it would 鈥渕urder鈥� the historic city. Critics claim the canal would be an environmental disaster, cost billions of dollars that Turkey can鈥檛 afford 鈥� and provoke severe tensions with Russia, which is determined to preserve existing rules on traffic into and out of the Black Sea. Will the canal go ahead? Who would lose 鈥� and who would benefit?

Tim Whewell reports from a divided Istanbul.

(Image: Turkish coastal safety patrol boats in the Bosphorus, Istanbul. Credit: Y枚r眉k I艧谋k)