Record Breaking Tender for Istanbul’s Third Airport Underlines Strength of 2020 Bid

Istanbul 2020 has been handed a major boost after a record-breaking tender worth €22.15bn for the city’s third airport was completed.

Turkish consortium Limak-Kolin-Cengiz-Mapa-Kalyon Joint Venture Group submitted the winning offer which is the largest in the history of the Turkish Republic.

The auction attracted international bidders as well as those from home and the 25-year ‘build-operate-transfer’ project will eventually see the airport become the largest in the world.

Chairman of Istanbul 2020, allergy Hasan Arat, commented: “This is a real milestone in Istanbul’s history. The third airport will help us to keep delivering outstanding levels of service to all the city’s visitors.

“Turkey’s 2023 Master Plan is testament to this country’s ambition: Istanbul has changed, our place in the world has changed, and we are nowhere near the top of our arc. The development going on in Istanbul will make the city more liveable and better connected for generations to come.”

The airport will be situated on the European side of the city and the first phase, with an estimated intiail annual passenger capacity of 90 million, is scheduled for completion of 2017.

Binali Y?ld?r?m, Turkey’s Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communications, said after the tender was completed, “This airport will address the needs of Turkey for probably the next 50 years.”

The tender was completed just as new figures have emerged showing that the number of foreign tourists visiting Istanbul in the first four months of 2013 reached 2.92 million, a 21% increase on the same period last year.