WIRTGEN GROUP machines driving the construction of the new Istanbul airport

After just three years of construction, the world‘s biggest airport (measured by passenger numbers) started operation in 2018 initially with two runways, expanded to three by 2019 and, by the end of the project in 2028 to six runways.

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The Ä°stanbul Yeni Hava-limanı, to give the “New Istanbul Airport” its official name, is also the biggest infrastructure project in Turkey. As so often on airport job sites, WIRTGEN GROUP technologies are on the radar. That is also the case with the developer Ä°GA, a consortium of five Turkish contractors Cengiz, MAPA, Limak, Kolin, and Kalyon. The companies opted for WIRTGEN GROUP fleet comprising over 50 machines and plants. BENNINGHOVEN asphalt mixing plants, VÖGELE road pavers as well as HAMM compactors and tandem rollers are responsible for getting the job site set for take-off. WIRTGEN slip form pavers are used to build several concrete taxiways.

HAMM compactors lay the perfect foundations

The earthworks for the new airport were a major project in itself. On this 9,000ha site, the challenge was to create a base with a high load-bearing capacity. With their operating weight of 16t, the 10 HAMM 3516 compactors were more than up to the task. The unbound layers of gravel and crushed stone were compacted with ease by the Series 3000 machines. They offer a winning combination of high cen-trifugal force and static linear load.