As part of a strategic collaboration between airport operator Malaysia Airports and Türkiye's IC Holding., Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, has named Serhat Soğukpınar as its new chief executive.
The collaboration statement reads that the partnership will pave the way for new opportunities for investments by IC Holding in the Asian region
IC Holding operates the smaller Kutahya airport in Turkey and has taken on turnkey projects to build airfields in Vietnam, Bulgaria, Russia, Saudi Arabia as well as other parts of Turkey.
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About the other notable transactions , the Ankara-based IC Holding group sold its 49% stake in Antalya Airport, Turkey’s second-largest, to TAV Havalimanlari Holding AS for €360 million ($397 million) in 2018.
About the appointment , Soğukpınar previously worked in airports in Türkiye's southern Antalya and capital Ankara, and oversaw numerous projects in the country and abroad while working at IC Holding.
The leadership change announcement came just a day after the official opening of the second runway, which will double the capacity of Sabiha Gökçen Airport.
Earlier on Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inaugurated Sabiha Gokcen’s second runway. The construction of the strip had been delayed for years as the country focused on completing the main Istanbul Airport. Erdogan said that the new runway’s operation would double Sabiha Gokcen airport’s capacity.
The airport, which lies southeast about an hour’s drive from the city of almost 17 million people, served almost 34 million passengers between January and November, up 21% from year ago, making it the third-busiest airport in the country in terms of customers, according to state airports authority DHMI.
Murad Bayar, CEO of IC Holding, highlighted the strategic significance of the partnership, indicating that it presents major opportunities for new investments in the Asian region and has the potential to enhance IC Holding's presence and influence in the geography.
Mohamed Rastam Shahrom, acting CEO of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) Group, also expressed optimism about the collaboration.
"The partnership with IC Holding not only allows us to benefit from their extensive experience and network in airport operation but also holds great potential to expand our cooperation into different areas in the future," Shahrom noted.
According to a report on the local aviation news site AirportHaber, ICA, a subsidiary of IC Holding, has formed a 50% partnership with MAHB at ISG, the entity responsible for operating Sabiha Gökçen, leading to Soğukpınar's appointment as the CEO.
The statement by the ISG said Soğukpınar's appointment was a "significant part of the strategic partnership between Malaysia Airports Holdings and IC Holding."
Sabiha Gökçen, among the fastest-growing airports in Europe in terms of passenger numbers, serves a total of 162 destinations, including 122 international and 40 domestic routes, with a capacity of 41 million passengers.
On the capacity , the airport on Istanbul's Anatolian side served some 31 million passengers in 2022, up from about 25 million in 2021.
Following the opening of the second runway, part of an infrastructural upgrade worth $970 million, Sabiha Gökçen Airport, the third-busiest airport in Türkiye by passenger numbers, is envisaged to reach a capacity to serve over 85 million passengers a year.
Malaysia Airports was part of a consortium that won a €1.9 billion contract to operate the Turkish airport in 2008 for 20 years. In 2013, it agreed to raise its holding in to 60% by acquiring a 40% stake held by Indian partner GMR Infrastructure Ltd. for €225 million. It bought the remaining 40% from Turkey’s Limak Holding in 2014 for €285 million.
