Istanbul in Limbo: Arrests Stall Earthquake Prep as Kanal Istanbul Moves Forward

As reported by Bloomberg, the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu and over a hundred senior officials has brought critical earthquake preparedness and social infrastructure projects to a halt, while the Kanal Istanbul project, strongly backed by the central government, is accelerating.

Following a 6.2-magnitude earthquake in late April, key municipal leaders, including İmamoğlu, were detained in Marmara High-Security Prison, located in Silivri, and unable to coordinate emergency response efforts. The detentions have created a power vacuum in Istanbul’s local governance, weakening opposition capacity and stalling essential projects.

Over 100 Municipal Staff Detained Since March

Since mid-March, over 100 municipal employees and senior figures from the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (İBB) have been detained. İmamoğlu, who already faces a prison sentence exceeding one year from a previous trial, remains incarcerated alongside multiple department heads and eight district mayors.

Urban planning expert Murat Güvenç, speaking to Bloomberg, said, “These arrests target those in critical decision-making roles,” describing the moves as a strategic attempt to paralyze local governance.

Kanal Istanbul Speeds Up as City Projects Freeze

While İmamoğlu has long opposed Kanal Istanbul, the project is advancing rapidly. Bloomberg reports that construction along the Sazlıdere Dam corridor—linked to the Kanal route—has intensified. A $1 billion tender was issued for 28,000 housing units, despite concerns from İSKİ, the city’s water utility, about violations of protected water basins.

After ISKI General Manager Şafak Başa formally warned TOKİ about the environmental risks, he was swiftly detained and placed under house arrest.

The government maintains that these developments are “not part of Kanal Istanbul” and claims they are “executed in line with legal zoning plans.”

Stalled Social and Earthquake Resilience Projects

Several high-impact social and disaster preparedness projects, championed by İmamoğlu’s administration, have also been suspended:

• The “Istanbul is Renewing” program, aimed at financing earthquake-resilient housing via KİPTAŞ, has lost momentum after project director Ali Kurt was arrested.

• Initiatives like urban forests, affordable public cafeterias, municipal preschools, and the long-term urban strategy “Vision 2050” have been shelved, with many of the planners also behind bars.

A De Facto Takeover Without a Trustee

Although no formal trustee (kayyum) has been appointed, experts argue the outcome is the same. In districts like Şişli, interim replacements for detained mayors have revived previously halted commercial developments, raising questions about the motives behind these appointments.

Political analyst Seren Selvin Korkmaz of the Istanbul Policy Center commented, “These arrests serve both political and economic agendas. Municipal projects are frozen, staff morale is shaken, and public services have been disrupted.”