TAV pays lease of $174.6 for Atatürk, İzmir airports

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

TAV Airports has paid $139.87 million plus taxes for the operation concession of Istanbul Atatürk Airport and 28.97 million euros plus taxes for the operation concession of İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport to the State Airports Authority (DHMİ), according to the company.

TAV Airports CEO Sani Şener presented two symbolic checks for the lease payments at the two airports to Transport Minister Lütfi Elvan at a recent ceremony to mark the event.
TAV took over the operation of Atatürk Airport on Jan. 9, 2000.

“We are issuing the first leasing amount of İzmir Adnan Menderes Airport today. We are glad to keep our promise and fulfill our commitment as always. We have set off on our journey from Atatürk Airport and today 14 airports are being operated by TAV. TAV Construction is currently constructing six airports and our service companies are operating at 33 airports,” said Şener.

“Such a leasing amount is being issued when public and private sector collaboration has hit the top. Turkey is one of world’s leading countries in public and private sector collaborations,” said Elvan at the ceremony, adding that the DHMİ had realized 18 similar projects alone.

Turkish passenger numbers rose 13.2 percent in December 2014 year-on-year. The Turkish aviation industry is attaining growth in every aspect despite the recession in the world and Europe, according to the latest figures.

“TAV is a pioneering company enabling us to open up to the world thanks to the build-operate-transfer method and the transfer of operating rights by leasing projects initiated in Istanbul. Atatürk Airport is not Turkey’s, but also the world’s most popular airport. The earnings today are to be invested in the Turkish civil aviation sector,” said DHMİ General Manager Orhan Birdal.

The Istanbul Atatürk Airport International Terminal, one of the first airport operation projects built according to the “Build-Operate-Transfer” model, was constructed in a record 22 months. A new parking space for 26 aircraft and taxiways were put into operation in 2014 as part of the first phase of a capacity increase project executed by the DHMİ in November 2014. Atatürk Airport welcomed 57 million passengers in 2014, an increase of 11 percent compared to the previous year.

In 2006, TAV Airports took over operations at the 118,000-square-meter Adnan Menderes Airport International Terminal with an investment of 150 million euros. TAV Airports won a tender held by DHMİ at the end of 2011, earning operating rights for the domestic terminal from 2012 until the end of 2032.
 
As per tender specifications, TAV built a new domestic terminal with an investment of 266 million euros at the airport, while connecting the domestic and international terminals with a bridge system. Adnan Menderes Airport welcomed 10.9 million passengers in 2014, an increase of 7 percent compared to the previous year.