Baku, Azerbaijan, April 9
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
The construction of the third airport has been completed by 85 percent in Istanbul, the Turkish Ministry of Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications told Trend on April 9.
The ministry said that the construction of the new airport in Istanbul is expected to end before the deadline.
The ministry noted that as a result of the construction of the third airport, the volume of cargo-and-passenger transportation in Turkey will increase.
"By late October 2018, the first part of the third airport will be fully operational in Istanbul," the ministry said.
The third airport is being built near the Lake Terkos in northern Istanbul. Initially, it will serve 90 million passengers a year.
After commissioning, the number of flight destinations in Turkey will increase from 282 to 350. The new airport will annually serve about 200 million passengers.
Meanwhile, the construction of the first runway of the new airport continues, which will be 3.7 kilometers long and 60 meters wide. The second runway will be 4.1 kilometers long and 60 meters wide.
Currently, construction and assembling work is underway to build 28 bridges and a hydrometeorological tower at the airport. More than 31,000 employees are involved in the construction.
Turkey’s Ziraat Bankasi allocated 1.54 billion euros for the airport’s construction, while Halkbank and Vakifbank – 1 billion euros, Denizbank – 500 million euros, Garanti and Finansbank – 300 million euros each in October 2017.
The first airport in Turkey was built in 1912 and was used for military purposes.
For the first time the Istanbul airport was opened for international flights in 1953 and in 1985 it was renamed in honor of founder of the Turkish Republic Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
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