Türkiye on Monday opened a new air traffic control tower and the third runway at Esenboğa Airport, part of an expansion push that will lift the capacity of the hub in the capital Ankara by at least 10 million passengers.

The project was implemented with an investment of 298 million euros ($346.58 million) but "without a single penny coming out of our state’s coffers," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told the inauguration ceremony.

The expansion was completed via a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The operating company will pay a total of 560 million euros, including value-added tax (VAT), in rent to the state over the 25-year lease period.

"We have implemented yet another one of the most successful examples of the public-private partnership model," said Erdoğan.

The new runway and the air traffic control tower marked the first phase of the two-stage project.

The runway is 75 meters wide and 3,750 meters long, while the modern air traffic control center stands 77 meters high. The expansion also includes a technical block with an area of 13,500 square meters.

Erdoğan said they also completed the construction of a new cargo apron covering 85,000 square meters with parking capacity for six aircraft, as well as a paved area totaling 945,000 square meters, including the associated taxiways and service roads.

In the second phase, Esenboğa's terminal building will be expanded by at least 40,000 square meters. Works will be carried out on a minimum of 58,000 square meters of apron and 18,000 square meters of paved connecting taxiway, said the president.

"We will increase the annual passenger capacity of Esenboğa Airport from 20 million to 30 million," Erdoğan noted.

He said aircraft traffic at Esenboğa Airport stood at 96,910 in 2024 and passenger traffic had totaled over 12.91 million. He compared that to 2002, when aircraft and passenger traffic were just 37,421 and 2.84 million, respectively.

In 2025, aircraft traffic increased by 7% compared to the previous year to 103,928, while passenger count rose by 8% to nearly 13.99 million.

"We foresee that passenger traffic at Esenboğa will exceed 23.1 million in 2035 and 31.5 million in 2045," Erdoğan said.

"These figures show us that our Esenboğa Airport now needs a larger capacity and higher standards."

Türkiye currently has 58 airports, a figure that will increase to 60 with this year's expected openings of Bayburt-Gümüşhane and Yozgat airports.

"We increased the number of our international routes from 60 destinations in 50 countries to 356 destinations in 133 countries," said Erdoğan.

Air passenger traffic in the country reached a record 247 million in 2025, and the government expects the figure to exceed 260 million in 2026.

Erdoğan said Türkiye ranks third in Europe and seventh in the world in terms of passengers.

The vast Istanbul Airport hosted approximately 84.5 million passengers, ranking second in Europe and seventh worldwide, the president added.

"Istanbul Airport, which the opposition did everything it could to obstruct, continues its leadership in Europe in terms of flight numbers, with 550,000 aircraft movements."

Through the projects over the last two decades, "we have brought Türkiye to a distinguished position both in its region and in the world," Erdoğan said.

"There is now a Türkiye that is not a follower, but one that is followed."