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TAV OPENS "ALEXANDER THE GREAT" IN MACEDONIA TO THE WORLD
 Referred to as an "independence gift” by Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to emphasize the significance of the day, Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, re-constructed by the TAV Group to double its capacity, has become the symbol of Macedonia's rising with its spectacular opening on the 20th anniversary of Macedonia’s independence. The latest product of the expertise and know-how of TAV Construction and TAV Airports in airport operations, Skopje Alexander the Great Airport was opened on 6 September 2011 with the participation of Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski. The new airport will be operated by TAV Airports for the next 20 years (until March 2030) and is expected to provide service to 4 million passengers a year. Macedonian Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski, Macedonian President Gjorge Ivanov, Macedonian Transport Minister Mile Janakievski, TAV Airports Holding Chairman Hamdi Akin, TAV Airports Holding CEO M. Sani Sener and DHMI General Manager Orhan Birdal were present at the opening of Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, which was re-built by TAV Airports that has made a 100 million Euro investment in Macedonia in line with the anticipated growth of the country. The ceremony started with an opening speech by Macedonian Transport Minister Mile Janakievski and continued with a speech by Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Economy Vladimir Peshevski. Afterward TAV Airports Holding CEO made a speech and the Macedonian Prime Minister closed with some final words. Nikola Gruevski Macedonian Prime Minister 
“We would like to thank TAV for the early opening of Skopje Alexander the Great Airport, which will contribute toward our becoming a center in the Balkans, prior to the 8th of September, which is our anniversary of independence. We have once more witnessed that TAV was the right choice. We are now opening a new page in our mutual history, which we have shared for centuries, and continuing in the direction of realizing our mutual dreams."
 “AN AIRPORT WORTHY OF ITS NAME” In his speech at the opening ceremony, Macedonian Prime Minister Gruevski said, “We are witnessing a historical day for Macedonia. Today, we are opening the new terminal building of Skopje Alexander the Great Airport and taking an important step towards becoming one of the most important flight centers of Eastern Europe and the Balkans. On the 20th anniversary of Macedonia’s independence, I am proud to be opening this airport completed by TAV Airports. I congratulate everyone who has contributed to giving us an airport worthy of the capital and its name. The achievement TAV has made in our country has also become a good reference for many Turkish investors.”  “JOY OF CONTRIBUTION TO DEVELOPMENT" TAV Airports CEO M. Sani Sener remarked that they were proud to have completed this project, which they initiated with the words “Hello Rumelia.” He emphasized that the contributions made to the country would continue to increase: “We are also happy to be contributing to the development of Macedonia, with whom we have long-established cultural relations, by renovating the entrance gate to the capital Skopje to reflect the dynamic and modern structure of the country. Our contribution will continue to grow through fast, safe and cheerful service to our passengers. We will also continue our smart growth within geographical regions that we see as target markets and to increase our success in the global economy by combining our fast decision making with our ability to bring together different cultures.”  MACEDONIANS FLOCKED TO THE CEREMONY Placing great emphasis on the opening of a new airport that the Macedonian public is very proud of, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski organized thousands of citizens to be transported by 100 red buses to Skopje Alexander the Great Airport to witness the ceremony. The buses, purchased from China, were similar to the double-decker buses which are the symbol of London. The Council of Ministers, traveling with the public on the red buses, listened to their opinions and concerns and took notes throughout the journey. Parking in the airport car park prior to the start of the ceremony, the red buses created a nice scene. Attended by hundreds of people, the opening ceremony was one of the important events held as part of the 20th anniversary celebrations of Macedonia’s independence.  THE WORKS COMPLETED With the addition of the new 40,000 square meter terminal building housing 6 passenger boarding bridges, TAV Airports has increased the passenger capacity to 4 million, expanded the apron and the runway as well as increasing the cargo and car park capacity. A 40,000 ton per year capacity cargo hangar, a new fire station, 5,000 square meter management building, 1,300 vehicle car park and 23 check-in counters are among the other areas constructed. The existing runway has been expanded by 500 meters.  EXPECTATIONS The new airport, which was completed in 18 months and 5 days, is anticipated to become the transport hub of The Balkans due to its strategic location. Last April, TAV Airport also renovated St. Paul the Apostle Airport in Ohrid, one of the country’s most popular tourism destinations. Having won the operation rights for both airports for 20 years, TAV Airports aims to make a difference for Skopje and Ohrid during the forthcoming processes through marketing and various activities and believes that both terminals have great potential in terms of both business and leisure trips.  HIGHLIGHTS OF PRESENTATION After the opening ceremony, a dinner was hosted by TAV Airports Holding Chairman Hamdi Akin, TAV Airports Holding CEO M. Sani Sener and TAV executives. The reception was attended by approximately 300 guests, including Macedonian Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Economy Vladimir Peshevski, Macedonian Transport Minister Mile Janakievski, DHMI General Manager Orhan Birdal, AK Party Izmir MP Rifat Sait and AK Party Istanbul MP Gulay Dalyan where TAV Airports Holding CEO M. Sani Sener made a presentation. Below are some of the notes from the presentation, which illustrated development projections in the aviation and airport construction sectors in the coming years. * Currently there are 20,000 commercial aircraft flying worldwide. According to estimates by Boeing and Airbus, this number will double to 40,000 by 2027. * This growth is inevitable. It is anticipated that the current 4.8 billion passengers traveling by air will increase to 9 billion by 2027. * The tendency to fly will increase worldwide. * Americans have been first in the world in passenger air travel. The total number of people who travel by air in the USA is 787 million compared to its population of 312 million. This figure shows that the number of passengers in the USA has is 2.5 times more than its population. * By comparison, there are 103 million air passengers in Turkey. According to this information Turkey has a coefficient of 1.4 as per its population of 74 million. * If we look at the same example for China, the number of Chinese people who fly is only 430 million against a population of 1.4 billion. In other words, the coefficient for China is around 0.3. This shows that China has a great potential for aviation in the coming years. This is why a large part of aircraft orders are now being placed by the Chinese. * The global average in tendency to fly was announced as 0.7. The number of people flying is 5 billion against 7 billion people. * With a coefficient of 1.4, Turkey flies above the global average. Turkey has achieved this level of air travel particularly during the past 8 years. The number of passengers in 2010 has increased to 103 million when compared to 34 million in 2000. * Fleets in Turkey belonging to Turkish Airlines and other private airline companies have rapidly been increasing. * Currently there are 2,000 commercial airports worldwide. However, only 93 of these airports handle 64 percent of all passenger traffic. * There is great potential for the improvement of other secondary airports. It is anticipated that a very significant airport construction market worth 1 trillion dollars will be emerging worldwide by 2027. * TAV appears to have a very bright future when considering that it is the third largest airport builder in the world. MACEDONIA SUCCESS OF TAV CONSTRUCTION  *From left to right: Bertan CICE- Translator/Time Keeper, Emre ENGIN- Site Architect, Gjorgi BANDE- Consultant Structural Supervisor, Ibrahim MERCAN- Mechanical Works Chief, Fatih KAN- Project Manager, Mustafa DEMIR- Site Foreman, Vehbi TÜZEL- Site Chief, Dursun KANDEMIR- Mechanical Works Foreman, Murat Firat NALCI- Mechanical Works Site Engineer Transforming airport construction into art, TAV Construction achieves full marks on the Skopje Alexander the Great and Ohrid Airport projects in collaboration with the Macedonian team deployed in Skopje and Ohrid. As confirmed in the Engineering News Record lists in 2010, TAV Construction is one of the top three names worldwide in the airport construction. Undertaking distinctive airport projects with advance technologies in Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Georgia, Tunisia, Doha, Dubai and Oman, TAV Construction has transferred its experience and know-how into the Skopje Alexander the Great Airport project achieved in Macedonia. A management team of 35 white collar and 50 white collar technical and administrative personnel from Turkey has worked on the TAV Construction Macedonia project. Nearly 20 local subcontractors have been involved on the application side. A compatible cooperation has been achieved with the local employees. TAV Construction Logistics and Purchasing Coordinator Mehmet Ali Turkel, who is responsible for the management of the Macedonian project, explained the operations carried out in Macedonia: “In Ohrid, we have completed the VIP and hangar building and car park works, as well as the renovation of the existing structures, in a short period of time. The Skopje Terminal building, on the other hand, has received a lot of credit particularly for its architectural concept, an important model which has taken the country's building standards to the next level. We had 14 sites in Skopje and 6 in Ohrid during the busiest period of the project. The average number of employees was 750 men per day. All works have been finalized without any problems. TAV Construction has proved itself a number of times in the field of airport construction and is fully equipped in this respect. When you manage to establish a site environment with high quality standards, it is possible to achieve greater success with the positive energy you create as a result. We have seen this through clearly during the Macedonia Project." Referring to the ongoing works on approach roads and bridges for which the building permit process has been delayed due to expropriation; Turkel says that their goal is to complete those works within the contract time as well. The TAV Construction team plans to finalize all works by December 2011 and leave Macedonia.  * Mehmet Ali TÜRKEL - TAV CONSTRUCTION Logistics and Purchasing Coordinator / Macedonia Project Coordinator “TAV Construction has put together a dynamic team in Macedonia by integrating its skills in project management with quality manpower. Taking strength from its previous experience, the team has met all expectations backed by the positive workplace environment and successfully completed the project by the agreed completion date.” "WE HAVE DISPLAYED COMPLETE TEAMWORK” 
Responsible for the management of the teams on site, Project Manager Faith Kan emphasizes the importance of the project in Macedonia and the role of the human factor in the success of the process: “The Macedonia project was very important to us in terms of being the first project that TAV Construction undertook in a capital city of a European country with whom we have a strong historical connection. As a team, we have taken pride in undertaking the construction of Skopje Alexander the Great Airport and worked very hard to produce the kind of result that is expected from TAV. Starting with the design stage, we have not only built facilities to meet our contract liabilities, but created high quality, environmentally and people friendly, modern facilities that will be referred to with praise for years to come. We completed our work in 15 months’ time, 1.5 months earlier than the due date and without any injuries. During this process, we compromised neither on the project budget, nor on the quality that we aimed for. And perhaps most significantly, we have displayed exemplary teamwork throughout this process.
As TAV Macedonia managers, we knew that we would achieve our goal very easily with the natural synergy that this success-oriented environment would create. Nevertheless, we now also feel very happy to be hearing that subcontractors, colleagues and employees that shared in our success remember it fondly.”
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| macedonian | skopje | tav |