Tag: third Istanbul airport

  • UPDATE 1-Istanbul airport tender seen drawing four bids-sources

    UPDATE 1-Istanbul airport tender seen drawing four bids-sources

    * Third Istanbul airport project worth 7 billion euros

    * Technical complexities discourage foreign interest

    * Airport described as world’s largest at full capacity (Adds quote, details, background)

    By Ozge Ozbilgin

    ANKARA, April 19 (Reuters) – A tender to build Istanbul’s third airport, which Turkey says could eventually be the world’s largest, is expected to attract up to four bids, with limited foreign interest in the 7 billion euro ($9 billion) project, sources close to the matter said.

    The government project reflects the growing importance of Istanbul, Europe’s largest city, as a regional transport hub in tandem with Turkey’s economic rise over the last decade.

    Alongside already expected bids from TAV, which is partly French owned, and IC Ictas-Fraport, the sources said a consortium of Turkishconstruction companies Cengiz, Kolin, Limak, Mapa and Kalyon was set to bid in the May 3 tender.

    Turkish conglomerate Sabanci Holding and construction company Enka Insaat were also working together on a possible bid, the sources said, adding that the size of the project and the technical difficulties which it entails were seen discouraging foreign interest.

    “We think it would be a surprise if a bid is made by anyone apart from these four groups,” one source close to the matter said.

    Quarries are located in the area near the Black Sea on the European side of Istanbul where the airport is to be built and filling them alone will cost some 2-2.5 billion euros, discouraging foreign interest, the source said.

    At the start of the process, airport operators from Singapore, Britain and the Netherlands expressed an interest but there is no indication that any will take part in the tender.

    The same source also said it would be difficult for new partners to join the project after the tender.

    The companies involved and government officials declined to comment.

    REGIONAL HUB

    Turkey unveiled in January its plans to build the airport, which will have a total of six runways and eventually able to handle 150 million passengers per year.

    Turkey’s transport minister said the airport would be the largest in the world in terms of passengers at full capacity, though it was not clear when this would be. Istanbul, the hub for flag carrier Turkish Airlines, is becoming a major regional hub, linking destinations in Europe and Asia.

    The tender for the build-operate-transfer project, to be conducted in four stages, will be for a 25-year lease. An annual capacity of 90 million passengers is planned for the first stage.

    The first stage of construction is expected to be completed in 3-4 years. But sector sources said it would be nearly impossible to finish the construction so quickly.

    Among the expected bidders, TAV has the operating rights for Istanbul’s Ataturk airport, the country’s largest with some 30 million international passengers last year.

    Operations at Ataturk are likely to be heavily scaled back when the third airport opens. Ataturk’s new international terminal costing hundreds of millions of dollars was opened only just over a decade ago, but a huge rise in air traffic through Istanbul has left it running at full capacity. The airport has only two main runways.

    TAV has said the Turkish airports authority would compensate it for any losses if the third airport opened while it was still running Ataturk.

    TAV also runs airports in Tunisia, Macedonia, Georgia, Latvia and Saudi Arabia. Among the other prospective bidders, Limak has also been involved in airport projects on the Asian side of Istanbul, in Egypt and in Kosovo.

    Hamdi Akin, the chairman of major TAV shareholder Akfen, said earlier this month the company was not looking for a partner in the project, though it could consider a financing partnership later.

    Bidders in the project are expected to provide around 1.5 billion euros in share capital, with project financing seen amounting to around 5 billion euros. ($1 = 0.7644 euros) (Reporting by Ozge Ozbilgin; Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Clelia Oziel)

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  • Istanbul airport tender receives applications from 16 firms

    Istanbul airport tender receives applications from 16 firms

    Balkans reported that the tender for the third airport to be built in Istanbul has received applications from 16 firms that have paid TRL 100,000 to obtain the specifications.

    3rd

    The country is planning to build a third airport in Istanbul and issued a tender for a 25 year build, operate and transfer contract at the end of January which is already attracting a lot of interest from foreign construction firms.

    Leading firms such as Sabancı Holding, TAV, Alarko Holding, Varyap, Limak and Doğuş Holding have previously declared their interest in the tender. However some firms are seeking partners to participate in the tender as a joint venture.

    The General Directorate of State Airports Authority said the sale of the specifications began January 28 but the participants which include both local and foreign firms would not be made public until the tender date.

    The project is expected to cost more than USD5bn. The first phase of construction is set to be completed in 2017 and will provide an initial capacity of 90 million passengers a year. Once all six of the planned runways are complete, the capacity then has the potential to increase to 150 million passengers.

    The new airport is also set to be supported by a number of other infrastructure plans in Istanbul including the construction of a new rail line to the airport.

    Source – Balkans

    (www.steelguru.com)

    via Istanbul airport tender receives applications from 16 firms -.

  • ISTANBUL 2020’S TRANSFORMATIVE TRANSPORT PLAN TAKES OFF

    ISTANBUL 2020’S TRANSFORMATIVE TRANSPORT PLAN TAKES OFF

    ISTANBUL 2020’S TRANSFORMATIVE TRANSPORT PLAN TAKES OFF

    2/4/2013

    Istanbul; 04 February 2013: The tender to build the world’s largest airport in Istanbul has been officially opened, reinforcing Istanbul 2020’s promise of quick, comfortable and convenient transport solutions for all athletes, and the wider Olympic family, should Turkey have the honour of being awarded its first ever Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020.

    The Olympic family can be assured of finding a fully modernised, connected city when they arrive at Istanbul’s new third airport – which will have six runways and an annual passenger capacity of 150 million by 2020. The first phase of construction is due to be completed in just three and half years and is one of five major infrastructure projects taking place in the city as part of Turkey’s 2023 Master Plan – the nationwide programme of long-term development.

    Hasan Arat, leader of the Istanbul 2020 bid, said:

    “The Istanbul 2020 team has continued to learn from our previous four bids; we have listened carefully to the Olympic family and we have extensively studied the successes of London 2012 and other host cities. We recognise that effective and efficient transport is critical for a successful Games – starting with a world class airport. The tender opening this week means that we have passed another milestone on our journey; we will continue to work hard to ensure that our ground-breaking transport initiatives will benefit Olympians, Paralympians and the wider Olympic family. Just as importantly, Istanbul 2020 would leave a valuable legacy for citizens and guests by making the city one of the most liveable and accessible in the world.”

    Istanbul 2020 promises to be an exceptional Games-time experience by fully drawing on the $1.5 billion average annual investment in transport infrastructure upgrades since 2005 and a further $15 billion to be spent on projects over the next three years. These projects will significantly reduce congestion and speed up all journey times for Olympic client groups. Istanbul 2020 has uniquely proposed hosting the Games in two continents; the Haliç Metro bridge, the Marmaray rail tunnel, the Eurasia Bosphorus road tunnel and a third Bosphorus bridge will all be completed before 2020, increasing the number of Bosphorus road and rail crossings to six.

    IOC member and President of the NOC of Turkey, Ugur Erdener, commented:

    “As a President of an NOC and an International Federation, I am focussed on the comfort and convenience of the athletes. I am more than confident that this carefully directed investment in Istanbul’s transport infrastructure will enhance our ability to deliver a technically outstanding Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020. Our proposed four competition zones across two continents have been selected to highlight Istanbul’s unique location, bridging Europe and Asia, as well as to guarantee athletes an average travel time of just 16 minutes between our iconic venues.”

    The winning tender for Istanbul’s third airport will be named in May.

    For more information contact: media@istanbul2020.com.tr

    As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.

    These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.

    via ISTANBUL 2020’S TRANSFORMATIVE TRANSPORT PLAN TAKES OFF.

  • World’s biggest airport planned for Istanbul, Turkey

    World’s biggest airport planned for Istanbul, Turkey

    Bigger than Heathrow: the plan behind the world’s biggest airport

    Turkey is aiming to make a major mark in the skies with ambitious plans to build the world’s largest airport and a vast expansion of the national airline as it seeks increasingly to build on its strong emerging status to become a global player.

    Boasting an airport twice the size of Heathrow and a fleet of modern aircraft, Turkey could pose a threat to struggling European airlines as well as fast growing Gulf carriers.

    Key to the plans is the construction of a six-runway airport in Istanbul eventually capable of handling 150 million passengers per year.

    The Turkish government has launched a tender to build the 7-billion-euro ($A9.12 billion) airport that from 2016 would position the country to become a major hub for traffic between Asia, Europe and increasingly Africa.

    “The construction of the giant airport is a clear sign telling the airlines to grow and keep up,” Emre Akcakmak, a senior analyst from Sweden-based East Capital, said.

    Flag-carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) is expected to make use of the opportunity by nearly doubling its fleet and expanding the destinations it serves by 50 per cent.

    The airline, twice selected as the best European airline, posted a 20-per cent rise in passengers last year to 39 million.

    It aims to reach 46 million passengers in 2013, generating a turnover of $US9.7 billion ($A9.3 billion).

    However it badly needs the new airport as Istanbul’s two current airports are nearly stretched to capacity.

    THY is widely expected to add to its fleet of 204 Airbus and Boeing planes by placing an order for about 150 new fuel-efficient aircraft, securing a place among the world’s top 10 airlines.

    That would allow the airline to expand the number of destinations it serves to 300 by 2020, banking on its location at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, as well as good access to Africa.

    “We are making superb use of an excellent geography. We can fly most places in profitable, narrow-body single-aisle planes,” company CEO Temel Kotil said.

    That shows in its operating margin. A key factor of profitability for airlines is the amount of seat capacity offered, and the percentage of those seats occupied.

    In the first nine months of 2012 THY boasted an operating margin of 10.4 per cent, which left the European majors in the fumes.

    Lufthansa posted an operating margin of 2.8 per cent for the period, followed by British Airways-Iberia owner IAG at 1.5 per cent.

    Air France-KLM was in the red for the period.

    –‘Unique’ advantage over western airlines —

    “THY can fly up to 40 countries in three to four hours, it will always have the unique advantage in the West,” said Guntay Simsek, an aviation columnist for Haberturk daily.

    “But it is in the Eastern market that THY will really find itself tested with competition, particularly against Emirates and Etihad,” he added.

    That is because THY is not the only airline looking to bank on good geography.

    Emirates Airlines has been one of the world’s fastest growing, catapulting itself into the third-largest by capacity, using Dubai as a hub for Asia-Europe traffic.

    It recently concluded a global alliance with Qantas to strengthen that role.

    The airline, which does not report quarterly results, carried 34 million passengers in its 2011-2012 operating year and posted an operating margin of 3.9 per cent.

    Another Gulf contender to the trans-continental travel market is Qatar Airways, which is pondering buying a stake in troubled Czech Airlines.

    Then there is Abu Dhabi’s Etihad, which is eyeing stakes in India’s Jet Airways and the ailing Kingfisher.

    “Europe might have been the driving force of the world’s aviation but that position is now long gone,” aviation expert Kurt Hofmann said.

    He said European airlines found the quick rise of airlines like THY and Emirates hard to believe, but that their rise should come as no surprise as the region is filled with governments who know “the importance of a strong carrier.”

    Turkey’s government is targeting rapid economic growth — it wants the country to become one of the world’s top 10 economies in a decade — and aviation is a priority sector.

    In addition to the airport project, the government in recent years has slashed taxes on air tickets and fuel, while EU airlines have been hit with additional charges.

    THY, which is still 49-per cent owned by the state, does not have bans on night flights at its hubs either.

    It is the state support that concerns European rivals, according to a European diplomat who wished to remain anonymous.

    “As THY is considered a strategic company, the government is helping it in a way that would be impossible if Turkey were a member of the European Union,” he said. “That’s not fair competition”.

    But THY’s expansion would not be without risks, however, as it would need to fill the seats on all those new planes or its profitability would be eroded.

    “It is both a big potential and a danger when the goals are set so high,” Hofmann said. “But THY can do it.”

    AFP

    via World’s biggest airport planned for Istanbul, Turkey.

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  • Fraport signals interest in new Istanbul airport

    Fraport signals interest in new Istanbul airport

    The operator of Germany’s biggest airport in Frankfurt has indicated it’s contemplating bidding for an operating concession for Istanbul’s new and third hub. It’s billed to become the world largest airport.

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    Germany’s Frankfurt airport operator Fraport on Friday signaled its interest in obtaining an operating concession for the third aviation hub in Istanbul, Turkey, to be opened in 2017.

    “We’ll be looking at the call for bids very carefully,” Fraport told Reuters news agency, adding that no tender-related documents were available yet. The company said Turkey was a very interesting market and stated that it had already fared well in the country as the majority shareholder of the Antalya airport for holidaymakers.

    Istanbul’s new hub is scheduled to deal with some 90 million passengers a year, with the potential of eventually welcoming 150 million people which would make it the biggest airport in the world.

    One more try

    “Should we take part in the bidding for Istanbul, we’d most likely do that together with a partner to spread risks,” Fraport said. Usually, the company applies for an operating concession with a validity of several decades.

    However, recent attempts to obtain such concession have all failed. Last month, Fraport was unsuccessful in securing a concession for one out of seven Portuguese airports up for tender.

    Besides Antalya, Fraport already operates a hub in Lima and two others in Bulgaria. The company gets about a fifth of total revenues from its business abroad.

    hg/hc (Reuters, dpa)

    via Fraport signals interest in new Istanbul airport | Business | DW.DE | 25.01.2013.

  • Turkey Will Build World’s Biggest Airport

    Turkey Will Build World’s Biggest Airport

    Alex Davies

    ataturk-airport-istanbul-turkey-2

    Istanbul’s Ataturk airport serves 45 million passengers per year.

    Turkey is planning to build the world’s biggest airport in Istanbul, the country’s Transportation Minister Binalis Yilidrim said yesterday.

    To be built on a 828 million-square-foot plot of land on the European side of the city, it will be able to serve 150 million annual passengers, making it the busiest airport in the world, according to ABC News.

    Istanbul is already served by two airports: Istanbul Ataturk, which served 45 million passengers in 2012 and is under strain, and the much smaller Sabiga Gokcen International Airport.

    Another airport would add capacity and give Turkey the chance to become a major air hub, a significant economic opportunity. Ataturk can not be expanded because of land constraints, Bloomberg Businessweek reported.

    The new airport is expected to be built in four stages; it could be operational and capable of serving 90 million annual passengers by 2017. The project is predicted to cost $8.84 billion, according to ABC.

    Istanbul is not the only major city working to expand its airport capacity. London is facing similar strain, and may have to deal with 300 million passengers every year by 2030. Politicians and officials are debating whether to expand Heathrow (Europe’s busiest airport) or build a new airport — one proposal calls for an airport on the Thames estuary, for a $79 billion price tag.

    China is also building a new, high-capacity airport outside Beijing, which will have a capacity of 130 million passengers per year.

    The world’s busiest airport is Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta, which serves 90 million passengers annually.

    via Turkey Will Build World’s Biggest Airport – Business Insider.