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Expansion to boost Istanbul airport capacity to 41M

Expansion to boost Istanbul airport capacity to 41M

Expansion to boost Istanbul airport capacity to 41MIstanbul: The new building at Istanbul’s Sabiha Gokcen Airport’s domestic terminal — representing a €26 million ($30.5 million) investment — will boost the airport’s annual passenger capacity to over 40 million, Istanbul’s governor said on Tuesday.

“It started with a capacity of 25 million people, reached 31 million, and now is being raised to 41 million,” Vasip Sahin said at the building’s opening ceremony.

Looking ahead, he added: “With the second runway, this capacity will reach 63 million.”

Ismail Demir, Turkey’s defense industry undersecretary, said that despite the opening of Istanbul’s new airport this fall, the expansion of Sabiha Gokcen will continue.

Set to open on Oct. 29, the upcoming third airport will be the world’s biggest project built from scratch.

In the first phase, the airport will welcome 90 million passengers annually. In the second phase, expected in 2023, the number is projected to rise to 150-250 million.

“We hope the second runway, the second terminal, and the expansion will come one after another,” said Demir.

Ersel Goral, the CEO of Sabiha Gokcen Airport Investment Development and Operation (ISG), said that airport’s passenger traffic grew eightfold over the last decade, last year reaching 31.2 million persons.

“We expect the second runway — which will cost approximately $1 billion — to be completed in 2019,” Goral said.

In the first half of 2018, more than 97.6 million people travelled through airports in Turkey, according to the State Airports Authority (DHMI) Directorate.

Some 1.38 billion people passed through the country’s airports during the last 10 years, said DHMI data.

Reporting by Ugur Aslanhan:Writing by Jeyhun Aliyev

—AA

New Istanbul Airport ‘trademark project’ of Turkey

New Istanbul Airport ‘trademark project’ of Turkey

Ahmet ArslanAnkara : Istanbul’s new mega-airport is a “trademark project” of Turkey, Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications Ahmet Arslan said Friday.

According to Anadolu Agency, Arslan said: “It is a prestigious project. It is true. At the same time, it is a trademark project for Turkey. At the same time, it is a project that will contribute both to Turkey’s employment and economy.”

Arslan’s remarks came a day after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s aircraft made the first ever landing at Istanbul’s new colossal airport, which is expected to formally open to air traffic on Oct. 29.

The minister said 225,000 people would work at the airport. About the name of the new airport, Arslan asked: “Why shouldn’t it be named after Recep Tayyip Erdogan?”, adding the name would be decided by the president himself.

Istanbul’s new airport will be one of three most prominent airports in the world with an annual capacity of 90 million passengers in the first phase.

The third airport in the city — 90 percent of which is already completed — will be the world’s most significant project built from scratch upon completion.

In the first phase, the airport will welcome 90 million passengers annually. In the second phase, which is expected to be completed in 2023, it is projected that the number would rise to 150-250 million.

—AG/UNA-OIC