Construction of Istanbul's third airport to begin in June

ISTANBUL — Ground will be broken within a month, as work begins on Istanbul's third airport. The location of the airport was determined after an agreement between Istanbul Grand Airport (IGA), the company that got the tender, and the Turkish State Airports Authority, with the transport hub being placed between Yeniköy and Akpınar. The new airport will have a capacity of 150 million passengers per year, which will make it the fifth largest airport in the world.

The airport is estimated to cost around 26 billion euros (TL74.5 billion). There will be six runways in the airport, and construction will be completed in three stages. The first stage is expected to come into service within 42 months at the latest. In the first stage, two independent parallel runways, one cross-runway, three parallel taxiways, high speed and connection taxiways, an apron, a terminal building, air traffic-communication- meteorology systems, other service buildings and systems will be built. In the second stage, one independent runway and one taxiway will be built in the neighborhood of Akpınar, while one independent runway, one cross-runway and two parallel taxiways will be completed in the third stage in the neighborhood of Tayakadın-Yeniköy.

The first stage will provide 80,000 people with jobs during the construction process, and when the airport is put into service, 120,000 people will be employed on average annually.It will be the fifth largest airport in the world after King Fahd International Airport in Saudi Arabia and three U.S. airports. The new airport is set to open in June 2017.

The airport will be built on a 76.5 million-meter-square-field between Yeniköy and Akpınar on the European side of Istanbul. This field was chosen by considering ecological balance, wind data and the natural and artificial obstacles of the region. Transportation vehicles, including road and rail transportation to connect the airport with the city center, will be built simultaneously with construction of the airport. Minister of Finance Mehmet Şimsek evaluated the third Istanbul airport project on Wednesday and said: "As far as I follow from the press, the foundations will be laid in June. If so, this means that the problems on the bridge issue are solved. The third airport is indispensable for Turkey." Noting that the number of international passengers reached 73.3 million, an increase of 11.8 percent in 2013. Şimsek said Ataturk Airport is working over capacity and added, "The third airport will take the load off Ataturk Airport's shoulders." Istanbul's Ataturk Airport remains in the top spot among the busiest airports in Turkey with 17.2 million domestic flight passengers, Esenboga Airport in the capital Ankara is the third busiest with 9.3 million domestic flight passengers annually.