Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has announced that Istanbul New Airport in Arnavutköy will be completed sooner than expected opening on October 29, 2017.
According to a report by online news site Daily Sabah, the Prime Minister made the announcement during a visit to the airport’s construction site. The €10bn (US$11.4bn) project was originally scheduled for completion in 2018, with construction starting in June 2014.
The Daily Sabah reports Davutoglu as having underlined the importance of the project as it reflects the country’s rising economic power and is one of the biggest projects undertaken in Turkey, both for its business volume and cost. He also emphasized the significance of such a large scale project being undertaken solely by Turkish firms as it reflects the improvement in the economy.
Davutoglu added, “This project requires everyone to be sensitive and observant about protecting the urban environment of Istanbul and to also be extra careful about the structure of the soil. The magnitude of the project and the importance we give to protecting Istanbul’s environment are equally as important. While 600,000 trees will be removed, five million will be planted in the area along with forestation work.”
Istanbul New Airport will be the third airport in the city until it eventually replaces Atatürk International Airport in 2021. The new airport will be located in Arnavutköy, a district in the northern part of the city’s European side. When complete, the airport will have a capacity of 150 million passengers a year and will be one of the largest airports in the world.
To read more from the report by Daily Sabah click here.