By Emre Peker
ISTANBUL--Turkey will begin the tender process for a third
airport in Istanbul on Thursday as the government seeks to turn the
country's biggest city into an international transportation hub,
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday.
The airport, which will be built on along the Black Sea coast on
the European side of the city, will be completed in phases within
three to four years, Mr. Erdogan told members of the governing
Justice and Development Party in Ankara. The new terminal will
handle 100 million passengers annually when it opens and 150
million people when construction is completed, he said.
Plans to launch the tender for the 10 billion lira ($5.6
billion) project were first announced by Transportation Minister
Binali Yildirim last week.
Companies that expressed an interest in the tender include TAV
Airports Holding Co. (TAVHL.IS), which sold a 38% stake to France's
Aeroports de Paris (ADP.FR) for $874 billion in May; Limak Holding
AS, which operates Istanbul's newer Sabiha Gokcen airport on the
city's Asian side; and Alarko Holding AS (ALARK.IS), among
others.
Write to Emre Peker at emre.peker@dowjones.com