Minister of Environment and Urbanization Murat Kurum approved three of the seven stages of the zoning plans prepared in accordance with the "Istanbul Province European Side Reserve Construction Area 1/100,000 Scale Environmental Layout Plan" amendment, which covers the Canal Istanbul Project area.

Thus, in the Canal Istanbul Project, many new steps have been determined in the area encompassing Arnavutköy and Başakşehir, ranging from housing and green spaces to the number of residential floors and transportation routes.

According to information obtained from ministry officials, the "European Side Reserve Construction Area 1/100,000 Scale Environmental Layout Plan" amendment, which constitutes the area surrounding the Canal Istanbul and was approved by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization on December 23, 2019, has been revised and put on public display again following objections.

On June 29, Minister Kurum approved the "Amendment to the 1/100,000 Scale Environmental Planning Plan for the Reserve Construction Area on the European Side of Istanbul" and, accordingly, the three stages of the 1/5000 scale Master Plan and the 1/1000 scale Implementation Plan.

The three approved stages of the seven-stage zoning plans surrounding the Canal Istanbul Project cover Arnavutköy and Başakşehir.

The plans consist of three phases: Phase 1 covers 3,982.6 hectares, Phase 2 covers 3,488.6 hectares, and Phase 3 covers 5,893 hectares, for a total area of 13,364.2 hectares, or approximately 133,640,000 square meters.

In the approved phases, the aforementioned zoning plans will include housing, commercial, tourism, social facilities, government institutions, technical infrastructure, logistics facilities and exhibition areas, as well as a technology development zone and large green spaces.

The plans also include the creation of ecological corridors featuring walking and cycling paths as well as green spaces.
The Ministry, prioritizing green spaces in the Canal Istanbul Project, has allocated approximately 60,663,000 square meters, constituting about 52 percent of the planning area, as "green areas, roads, and social infrastructure areas.".

NO PERMITS FOR HIGH-RISE BUILDINGS

With the new regulations, horizontal architecture has been adopted as the principle in residential areas. Accordingly, residential buildings cannot exceed ground floor plus 3 floors, with a floor area ratio of 0.50.
In social infrastructure areas, a floor area ratio of between 0.75 and 1.50 will be applied, and building heights will be constructed as ground floor + 3 or ground floor + 4 floors.
This will prevent the construction of high-rise buildings in residential and social infrastructure areas.

THE ROUTES HAVE ALSO BEEN DETERMINED.

The zoning plans include arrangements that will facilitate transportation along the Canal Istanbul route.

A transportation scheme was created, and routes were determined that will enable the Canal Istanbul to be connected to the center of Istanbul and intercity roads via planned highways, metro, and rail systems.

These routes will be as follows: “Halkalı-Istanbul Airport-Gayrettepe rail system line, Northern Marmara highway connection and route, Küçükçekmece-Avcılar highway crossing route, E5 highway connection and crossing route, and TEM highway connection and route.”.

The ministry is continuing its urban planning studies for the lake and its surroundings, as well as for the other four phases where protected areas are concentrated.