Ministry moves to remove illegal structures at Sapanca Lake shore
ANKARA
In a major environmental initiative, Türkiye’s Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Ministry will launch a restoration project to clear the shoreline of Sapanca Lake in the northwestern city of Sakarya of unauthorized structures and revive the area’s natural character.
"Through this protection and restoration project, we will remove illegal structures and piers around the lake to restore the natural landscape. While protecting Sapanca’s ecological balance, we will also reconnect our citizens with nature through walking and cycling paths,” the environment minister Murat Kurum said in a social media post.
Thanks to the project, the “Sapanca Lake will breathe again,” Kurum highlighted.
As part of the initiative, set to launch in collaboration with the local authorities, 97 unauthorized piers along the lake’s shoreline will be dismantled. Subsequently, the walking path around the lake will be renovated to improve accessibility and environmental harmony.
With an adjustment scheduled to be carried out in two phases, officials will introduce a total of 25 kilometers of walking and cycling paths for public use.
Gökhan Pehlivan from the Sakarya Municipality’s directorate of civil works emphasized that the primary goal is to preserve the lake’s ecological integrity and maintain its status as a drinking water reservoir.
A troubling surge of unauthorized tourism development has been drawing increasing concern at the picturesque lakeside for a while, with around 2,000 illegal bungalows endangering both the environment and public safety also having been set for demolition.
