The Turkish Transportation Minister has announced a third airport in İstanbul will be constructed on the European side and that it will have a yearly passenger capacity of 60 million.
Speaking to the Anatolia news agency on Monday, Minister Binali Yıldırım said the civil aviation sector in Turkey has witnessed crucial developments in recent years that have resulted in increased density of air traffic across Turkey and especially in İstanbul. He noted that there are currently two operating airports in İstanbul — the İstanbul Atatürk and Sabiha Gökçen airports — and they are working on a third airport to be constructed in İstanbul.
Yıldırım underlined that the next airport will be constructed on the European side, although they have not decided on the exact area yet. “The new airport in İstanbul will have a capacity of at least 60 million passengers-per-year. There will be at least two independent landing fields, and it is expected to be one of the most important airports in Europe. It will be tendered with a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model and will cost approximately $5 billion, including the connecting highways to this airport,” said the Minister. He added that Sabiha Gökçen Airport had decreased the density of Atatürk Airport and with the planned third airport İstanbul’s problems with air traffic congestion will be significantly eased.
Transportation Minister Binali Yıldırım noted that the two operating airports in İstanbul are not enough to meet the air traffic demand of the major Turkish city and announced that a third airport will be contstructed in İstanbul, on the European side
Separately, Yıldırım also touched upon unfinished subway projects in İstanbul and Ankara. He said the responsibility for the projects has recently been transferred from local authorities to the Transportation Ministry, but they are waiting approval from the cabinet. Yıldırım said the Transportation Ministry and the Transportation Ministry’s General Directorate of Railroads, Ports and Airports Construction (DLH) will continue with the unfinished subway projects in the two major cities in Turkey. “It is not definite but we, as the ministry, think that the same construction companies will continue subway construction in İstanbul, while in Ankara we will work with the companies that we would like to continue and otherwise tender the subway project again. We would like to complete these projects as soon as possible and give priority to subway projects. It is expected that subway construction will be completed in two to two-and-a-half year’s time” said the minister.
Answering a question regarding the Sürat Railway Project, Yıldırım noted the project started in the year 1974 and that only 60 kilometers of rail have been constructed since then. He said the Sürat Railway Project’s aim was to connect Ankara with İstanbul passing through the Ayaş Tunnel and that the total length of the railway was estimated as 260 kilometers. “We are not considering completing this project as well but are thinking of rehabilitating the Ankara-Ayaş part of the project in such a way that trains could travel at speeds of up to 250 kilometers per hour. This rehabilitation will cost approximately TL 150 million, and in this way, we could at least make use of the completed part of the project and spend less money,” said Yıldırım.
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