Third airport construction ‘begins in June’

ISTANBUL

AA photo

The construction of Istanbul’s third airport will start in June, according to the finance minister, confirming media reports on May 28.

“As far as I follow from the press, the foundations will be laid in June. If so, this means that the problems about the [third Bosphorus] bridge issue have been solved,” Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said, speaking at the Turkish-Arab Economic Forum yesterday. The third Istanbul airport is projected to be the largest airport in the world, with a 100 million passenger annual capacity.

“The third airport is indispensable for Turkey. The third airport will take the load off the shoulders of Ataturk Airports,” Şimşek added, stressing that Istanbul’s two current airports were currently working over capacity.

The international passenger numbers at Atatürk Airport rose to 73.3 million in 2013, a rise of 11.8 percent.
The third airport project, which is being built in a forested area of northern Istanbul, close to the city’s last reservoirs, was awarded to a consortium of five Turkish companies – Cengiz, Kolin, Limak, Mapa and Kalyon – in a tender held on May 3, 2013, for 22.1 billion euros.

The start of construction has been delayed due to several setbacks, including reported funding struggles for the winning consortium. Istanbul’s Fourth Administrative Court also ordered a stay of execution of the Environmental Impact Assessment (ÇED) report, which was issued by the Environment Ministry on Jan. 21.