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The first phase of the new Istanbul Airport project is due to open in 2018 |
TURKEY. Some of the world’s leading travel retailers are preparing their offers for one of the world’s biggest duty free bids, at Istanbul’s new airport. At stake is a single exclusive contract to operate both Departures and Arrivals stores (the latter a key channel in Turkey) – with proposals due in mid-September.
The facility, titled Istanbul New Airport or Istanbul Grand Airport, will house the largest airport terminal under one roof when completed in 2018, and have capacity for 90 million passengers in its first phase, according to the Cengiz-Kolin-Limak-Mapa-Kalyon consortium that won the 25-year concession in 2013. That capacity will swell to 150 million in later phases, as the airport challenges for status as the world’s largest.
Although it is only due to open in 2018, the operating consortium has gone early to market to secure advance funding for the project. This includes a huge €400 million guarantee for the duty free concession, The Moodie Report reliably understands. At this stage, with the airport commercial zones still in planning, store sizes have yet to be finalised.
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The airport will have initial capacity for 90 million passengers |
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A number of the world’s biggest travel retailers have been invited to take part in the process – with some intriguing alliances likely to take shape. Given the scale of the bid and the ambitious projections for the airport (90 million passenger capacity in year one), a number of companies have indicated that they will only bid within a partnership.
As previously reported, the Cengiz-Kolin-Limak-Mapa-Kalyon consortium captured the long-term contract to build and operate the airport in 2013, guaranteeing the Turkish government €22.1 billion over the period. The new six-runway hub will be constructed on 77 million sq m of land around 35km from Istanbul. It will be built in four phases. Phase one will house a gross floor area close to 1 million sq m.
An international architectural team of Nordic Office of Architecture, Grimshaw and Haptic Architects was appointed to design the airport. They said that the building will be “modern and highly functional, with a unique Sense of Place. The architectural design of the terminal is closely linked to the area’s unique character and will act as a stunning gateway to Istanbul and Turkey.”
Internally, there will be a vaulted ceiling connecting landside to airside, with “roof and layout design reinforcing passenger flows, while enhancing passenger experience with intuitive wayfinding” said the architects. “Skylights provide natural daylight, which is diffused through the ceiling via focused beams of direct sunlight. This daylight highlights key areas in the terminal such as check-in, security, passport control and the retail environment,” they added.
We’ll bring you more on this key story soon.
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Although the Turkish airport consortium has called for duty free retail proposals by next month, store sizes have yet to be finalised |
