Istanbul New Airport has signed contracts with six companies worth €250 million to develop facilities in the Cargo City and Ground Services Campus.

MNG, PTT, Celebi Ground Handling, HAVAS, Sistem Logistics and Bilin Logistics will serve at the Cargo City; and MNG, Celebi Ground Handling and HAVAS at the Ground Services Campus will build their own facilities at the Cargo City and Ground Services Campus within the scope of the 25-year contracts.

IGA Airport Operation chief executive officer, Huseyin Keskin says Turkey’s strategic location, investments in the freight sector by Turkish Airlines and the developing economy makes Turkey a crucial country for air cargo, while ground services are essential to make airport operations efficient.

He says: “At İGA, we signed off our first cargo and ground services agreements to deliver seamless services and place Istanbul, the meeting point of civilisations for centuries, at the heart of aviation. We are quite delighted about that. Within this scope, we signed area allocation agreements, totalling EUR 250 million, with six major Turkish-founded companies.”

The Cargo City is equal to the size of 200 football fields, and will allow simultaneous operation of 35 wide-body cargo aircraft.

Keskin says: “Once opened, the airport will have 2.5 million tons of cargo capacity. Currently, the airport with the largest global cargo movement is Hong Kong Airport with a volume slightly more than 4.5 million tons. Yet, the Istanbul New Airport will have a capacity of 5.5 million tons when its all phases are complete.”