This article first appeared in The Edge Malaysia Weekly on February 9, 2026 - February 15, 2026

MALAYSIA Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) has submitted a proposal to build and operate a new terminal, known as the Midfield Terminal, at Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport (ISGA) in Türkiye, as it seeks to extend its presence at one of Europe’s fastest growing aviation hubs. A response is expected this year.

The airport operator, which holds the concession to manage ISGA until 2032, is awaiting a response from the Turkish government, managing director Datuk Mohd Izani Ghani tells The Edge.

The proposal follows the Turkish government’s invitation last year for third-party expansion plans for the new terminal.

“We’re just waiting for the next steps by the Turkish government. As the airport operator, MAHB, under the new shareholders, has submitted a proposal and is awaiting their response,” Mohd Izani says in an interview.

MAHB has been pursuing both a concession extension for ISGA and a separate concession to build and operate the Midfield Terminal since before its privatisation by the Gateway Development Alliance Sdn Bhd consortium in February 2025.

Passenger traffic at ISGA hit a record 49 million in 2025, up 17.5% from a year earlier, with international travellers accounting for more than half of total traffic. The airport has surpassed both pre-Covid-19 pandemic levels and its annual capacity of 41 million passengers.

Capacity constraints have been partially eased through operational and technology upgrades, says Mohd Izani. ISGA currently operates Terminal 2, which can handle 41 million passengers per year. In December 2025, MAHB completed a €70 million (RM326 million) modernisation and optimisation of Terminal 1, lifting the airport’s combined capacity to 50 million passengers a year.

Even so, further expansion is needed. ISGA is Türkiye’s second busiest airport and ranks among Europe’s fastest growing hubs, serving 154 destinations across 54 countries after adding 25 new routes last year.

The Midfield Terminal would be built on a new site and take several years to complete. Under Turkish regulations, it is classified as a separate infrastructure, requiring a new concession even though it expands the existing airport.

“The Midfield Terminal will come with a new concession. The current concession ends in 2032, so if we are awarded the project, it will be structured separately,” says Mohd Izani. MAHB was part of a consortium that won a €1.93 billion contract in 2008 to build and operate ISGA until 2032.

In June 2024, The Edge reported that MAHB has been in talks with Türkiye’s defence industry agency Savunma Sanayii Bakan since 2022 on extending the concession, proposing additional investments to boost capacity.

In 2023, MAHB appointed a master planner to assess expansion options. One phased approach involves a €220 million linear expansion of existing terminals, raising capacity to 56 million passengers per year, followed by construction of the Midfield Terminal at a cost of €400 million. The new terminal would add 25 million passengers of capacity, lifting the airport’s total to 81 million a year.

An alternative option calls for the immediate construction of the Midfield Terminal, increasing capacity by 25 million passengers to 66 million passengers per year at the same cost of €400 million.

MAHB has proposed to fully fund the Midfield Terminal, according to the report, citing a person familiar with the matter. A phased approach would allow the airport to build cash flows to partially finance the project while repaying existing loans and equity obligations. 

Save by subscribing to us for your print and/or digital copy.

P/S: The Edge is also available on Apple's App Store and Android's Google Play.