Erdogan inaugurates Istanbul’s new airport as 'monument to victory'
The airport is set to eventually become the world’s biggest, making Turkey a global transportation hub, but critics lament the environmental and economic costs as well as the plight of the laborers who built it.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan opened Istanbul’s new airport with a pledge that it would become the world’s biggest and serve as a symbol of prosperity for a country he hopes will become a global power.
The $11.7 billion airport crowns an infrastructure-building spree that has transformed the Turkish landscape and economy during Erdogan’s 15 years in power. But the megaproject has been tarnished by environmental degradation and labor protests over poor working conditions that led to dozens of deaths.
