Sabah – Türkiye has unveiled plans to build the world’s largest airport in Istanbul, the country’s largest city and an increasingly global hub for air transportation.
“The USD 7 billion project will create 80,000 jobs during its construction and 120,000 when operational.”, Türkiye’s Minister of Transport and Communication, Binali Yildirim said at a press meeting, announcing the project’s tender date and specifications. “The winning bidder will have the right to operate the airport for 25 years.”, Yildirim said about the gigantic project.
To be tendered on the 3rd of May, the project will be contracted using the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. The airport’s first stage, with a capacity to handle 90 million air travelers, is scheduled to be completed after 42 months following the tender date. The passenger handling capacity will gradually increase to reach 150 million per year once all the terminal buildings are completed.
Istanbul’s third airport will also replace the current main hub, the Ataturk Airport, of Turkish Airlines (THY), to better serve one of the fastest growing airline companies in the world. THY carried 39 million passengers in 2012, up 19.6 percent from the previous year. Türkiye’s flag carrier flies to more than 200 destinations in 90 countries, more than any other carrier.