Limak says it will sign 4.5 bln euro loan package with six banks for Istanbul’s new airport

ISTANBUL - Reuters

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Limak Holding Chairman Nihat Özdemir has said a loan package worth 4.5 billion euros will be signed with six banks to finance the first stage consortium works of Istanbul’s new airport on Oct. 19. 

Some 70 percent of the package will be held by state-run banks, he noted at a meeting organized by the monthly magazine Capital on Oct. 7. 

“The construction works of the third airport have so far been made in a rapid manner. We have resolved the financing issues but a few points remain unresolved. We’ll finalize the deal by the end of this month,” said Özdemir, who is part of the consortium building the airport. 

He added that the financing package’s volume is at 4.5 billion euros, with some 70 percent of the package to be provided by state-run lenders. 

“[Private banks] Finansbank, Garanti Bank and Denizbank, in addition to state-run banks Ziraat, Halkbank and Vakıfbank are taking part in securing the package. Yapı Kredi was also in the package talks but it later opted out … We plan to ink the deal on Oct. 19,” Özdemir said. 

Sources confirmed to Reuters that six banks would be involved in the airport financing and some 3.5 billion euros of the total 4.5 billion euros will be secured by state-run banks. 

The Cengiz-Kolin-Limak-Mapa-Kalyoncu consortium, a joint venture of Turkish companies, won a tender for the third Istanbul airport in May 2013, promising to pay the state 22.1 billion euros, plus taxes, over 25 years starting in 2017. The Istanbul Grand Airport company (İGA) was then established to build the airport. 

Around 6-6.5 billion euros of investment is planned for the first stage of construction. The remaining amount will be provided through equity capital. 

Özdemir stated that the new airport is planned to be opened in the first quarter of 2018.