TAV-Fraport makes 1.8 bln euros upfront payment for Antalya Airport

ISTANBUL

A TAV Airports and Fraport AG joint venture closed the financing and completed the upfront payment to the General Directorate of State Airports Authority (DHMİ) as part of an agreement regarding the development and 25-year concession of Antalya Airport.

The consortium had won the tender for the airport, which is the main gateway of the tourism industry in the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya, for 7.25 billion euros.

A ceremony was held yesterday in Istanbul to mark the occasion, which was attended by the Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoğlu, DHMİ chief Hüseyin Keskin, TAV Airports President, and CEO Sani Şener, and Fraport CEO Stefan Schulte.

The consortium of TAV-Fraport was granted a loan of 1.2 billion euros from several domestic and foreign banks including Ziraat, Deutsche Bank, and Kommunalkredit Austria.

Antalya Airport ranked ninth in the region with 21.3 million passengers last year, according to the Airports Council International Europe (ACI Europe).

In January, the airport served 558,000 international travelers, a 175 percent increase on an annual basis.

It hosted nearly 35.5 million travelers in 2019, reaching an all-time record number.