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By News Center

Transport and Infrastructure Minister Adil Karaismailoglu has stated that Turkey will inaugurate new Rize-Artvin Airport with a ceremony to be held on May 14, Yeni Shafak has reported.

Karaismailoglu made the remarks following the inspection at the construction site of Rize-Artvin Airport, which was built by filling the sea.

“The airline has evolved into a popular mode of transportation. Our airline investments totaled 147 billion TL ($9.9 billion). We have built new airports in Turkey to fulfill the demands of the modern era. We have also completely renovated the existing airports. In 2003, there were just 26 operating airports. Today, we have 57 airports with Tokat Airport, which opened to the public on March 25. Now we're looking forward to bringing a new service to our country,” Karaismailoglu stressed.

Turkey now has 58 airports, thanks to the opening of Rize-Artvin Airport, which was built on a 3 million square meter site. Rize-Artvin Airport, after Ordu-Giresun Airport, is the second airport in Turkey and the fifth in the world to be built by filling the sea. The airport's runway, apron, taxiway, and other infrastructure work had been completed, the minister said.

Karaismailoglu underlined that test flights started in early April. With its 45-meter-wide and 3,000-meter-long runway, the project will fully meet the regional airline transportation needs and will be able to serve 3 million passengers per year.

“We are talking about an enormous structure with a total indoor area of ​​47,133 square meters, including the 32,000 square meters Terminal Building and other support buildings. We also erected the terminal building, which represents local architecture, and the tower, which is 36 meters high and inspired by the shape of a tea glass, at the airport, which contains vestiges of the region's cultural features. Our tower, with its lighted body, will give the region's silhouette new energy,” the minister said.

Significant measures have been taken to improve the landscape of Rize-Artvin Airport, which is one of the world's rare examples of its technical and construction features. Some 49,000 square meters area has been vegetated with 1,453 trees that are compatible with the geographical features of the Black Sea and a tea museum has been established to introduce Rize tea the rest of the world, Karaismailoglu emphasized.

He highlighted that the airport will provide uninterrupted domestic and international air transportation to the Eastern Black Sea region, Rize and Artvin, as well as will open the natural beauties of the region to world tourism. In other words, it will contribute to the country’s economy by using the tourism potential correctly.

“It will provide the transportation needs of the Eastern Black Sea region, where road transportation is difficult due to its geographical features, in a faster and more comfortable way, and will establish a transportation point for passengers going to the Eastern Black Sea region and Georgia from domestic and abroad,” the minister stressed.

The project will both support the political and economic relations between Turkey and the regional countries and increase the investment potential of the region by accelerating the socio-economic and socio-cultural development, he added.

During the building phase, the airport contributed 56 various sectors directly or indirectly, and it will continue to do so during the operational phase. During the building phase, the project contributed $556 million to the national economy, employed 28,100 people, and produced more than 1.2 billion dollars, Karaismailoglu underlined.

“Beyond Turkey, we offer our airport to all nations surrounding the Black Sea, as well as the Middle Corridor, one of the busiest commerce routes connecting Asia and Europe, in short, to the world's service. As a result, a part of our region's passenger and freight transportation will be transferred to the airway. Fuel usage, road maintenance and repair expenses, and traffic accidents resulting from vehicle transportation will all be reduced. Furthermore, time-related expenditures will be reduced. There will be less traffic on the roads. This will result in lower exhaust emission levels,” the minister said.

He added that the filling works of Iyidere Logistics Center are also underway.

"Iyidere Logistics Port, which will be the new address of large tonnage ships with a Ro-Ro capacity of 100 thousand vehicles, is a giant project that is under construction. It will be the transfer center of the combined transportation chain that will emerge from the potential traffic between the Caucasian and the Middle East countries. Rize will win, the Black Sea will win, our country will win,” Karaismailoglu stressed.

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