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"Istanbul's airport capacity is set to be increased dramatically by a third airport, now that the mayor has given the project the green light. Mayor Kadir Topbas has told reporters that the airport, which will be built in the western Silviri district, will be in conjunction with other projects to expand capacity, and that the airport will be several times larger than the city's current main airport Istanbul Ataturk.
"These plans have been made in cooperation with the Transportation Ministry. They want to increase the capacity of the current airports in a short period of time. There is an additional runway at Sabiha Gökçen. We are considering building another runway at Ataturk Airport. But we have added a third airport to our plans," he said.
The airport comes in response to the massive and growing traffic volumes being seen at Istanbul's two airports. Istanbul Ataturk received 13% more visitors in the first four months of this year than last year, which is saying something considering the airport received over 30 million passengers in 2009.
The smaller Sabiha Gökçen is also seeing rapid growth, and is predicted to welcome over 11 million passengers this year.
According to New Home in Turkey, a real estate agent specialising in Turkey property, the new airport could boost the Istanbul property market, as well as markets throughout Turkey.
"The new airport will almost certainly boost the Istanbul property market. Accessibility is a key factor when looking at buying property abroad and increasing tourism will also increase rental yields and make investments more appealing. But because the new airport will also increase the availability of connecting flights to airports across Turkey, it could also boost markets throughout Turkey," said Aydin Cakir, managing director of the firm.
