Zafer Airport has been formally opened by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan 18 months ahead of schedule. The airport was constructed in 18 months, from ground breaking to opening, and the airport has initially created 300 jobs.
Scheduled flights by Turkish Airlines to Istanbul Atatürk have already started with more routes due to launch before the end of the year.The new airport has a 3km runway and a 20,000sqm terminal building, providing a capacity for more than 1.5 million passengers a year.Mott MacDonald acted as technical advisor on the project – the seventh Turkish airport the consultancy has worked on – providing traffic forecasting, commercial, aviation engineering and environmental services.Project director, Chris Chalk, of Mott MacDonald, said: “Around 20,000 people attended the airport opening, highlighting the regional support for Zafer’s development.“The project has been developed by the private sector to deliver socio-economic benefits to the Western Anatolia region.“The 18 months from ground breaking to opening are remarkable given the -20C weather experienced at the time of roof erection.
“Close collaboration between all parties contributed to this being a success. There were no serious injuries during the one million staff hours worked during construction of the airport.“Mott MacDonald helped drive close community engagement creating opportunities for local employment.“Post completion, 300 local jobs have been created which will rise to 700 by the middle of next year.”Turkish developer IC Ictas began construction in May 2011 and completed construction and commissioning 18 months ahead of contract and six months ahead of their own programme. Source: airportworld
Gravity always wins!