Another Bosphorus Bridge, the Marmara-Black Sea Canal, the construction of a mega department store in Istanbul, planning and start of construction of the nuclear power plants and the mega project of the new Istanbul Airport -

mostly large-scale projects, which in the course of Turkey's economic rise are by no means all comprehensively influenced by the population, as became clear from the protests at Gezi Park last year. Often started without any citizen participation or consideration for the environment and nature, there is not only resistance from the population.

As reported in several Turkish newspapers, an Istanbul court has now initially stopped the project to build the new Istanbul airport. In the final stage of the expansion, it was to become the largest passenger airport in the world for around 150 million guests a year. According to the court, the project, estimated at around 22 billion euros, has glaring deficiencies in the environmental impact assessment. Well, according to the condition, further environmental reports must first be obtained, which will delay the project by an estimated one year.

Without waiting for the objection period of the environmental impact assessment

A Turkish construction consortium had already secured the order to build the mammoth project last year. Not only environmentalists and private individuals had protested because of the impending loss of huge forest areas, which are considered in the region as a reservoir for Istanbul's drinking water supply, several associations had also joined forces to file suits. In addition to the protests from agriculture on the Black Sea coast due to the expected environmental pollution, it became clear during the court hearing that the government had tendered the construction project without waiting for the objection period of the environmental impact assessment. The court also followed the arguments against the impending loss of the drinking water protection area insofar as another administrative court procedure is still pending.

The construction of the third Bosphorus Bridge had only recently begun, where there was similar resistance. The major airport and the third Bosphorus bridge are part of the series of ambitious prestige projects of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government, along with the canal construction project and the nuclear power plants.

Start of construction for Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey

Turkish media reported that the first leveling work and blasting work for the construction of the highly controversial nuclear power plant had also begun in the bay of Akkuyu. Here, too, the environmental impact assessments are missing, which is why opponents of nuclear power describe the construction as illegal and have now filed criminal charges against the operators. The planned nuclear power plant, to be operated by a Russian-Turkish consortium, would be Turkey's first nuclear power plant.

In principle, many experts question the construction of nuclear power plants, since the problem of disposal has by no means been solved in other countries either. Here on the Turkish Riviera, the protest and resistance also applies to the chosen location itself, as there is at least a direct risk of earthquakes along the coast. It also needs to be questioned why photovoltaics are not used as the main source of electricity, because the conditions in Turkey are ideal. In this way, one could in principle avoid the problems of nuclear waste arising in the future. It has long been known that disposal has a decisive cost pressure on electricity prices, making this energy source uneconomical. This is especially true when there are alternatives.

The nuclear power plant planned in Akkuyu is expected to have a capacity of 4,800 megawatts and be operational in time for the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 2023. The criminal complaint that has now been filed against the operators could also delay this date. The Turkish government also wants to build a nuclear power plant on the Black Sea coast in Sinop in the coming years, and the planning is in full swing. Ankara argues that nuclear power will reduce Turkey's dependence on oil and gas imports, which is initially correct. However, given the experience of other countries, whether one should rely on nuclear power remains at least questionable. Especially since a well-known Japanese company is involved in the construction of the nuclear power plant on the Black Sea coast.

It is still unclear whether there will also be a court-ordered construction stop in Akkuyu. The construction consortium and the government have not yet reacted to the Istanbul court decision.

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