Tea-Themed Airport Built on the Sea, 80Km From the Georgian-Turkish Border

The construction of a new airport near the village of Yeşilkoy, 80 km from the Georgian-Turkish border in the Fazar district of Turkey, is entering its final phase.

The new airport was built at the crossroads of two provinces in Turkey - Rize and Artvin and is called "Rize-Artvin Airport".

Due to the fact that both provinces are geographically mountainous, the airport was built on the sea. 280 hectares of sea were filled for construction at a depth of 30 m. According to the Turkish media, 100 million tons of stone were used to fill the sea.

The new airport will have a 3,000-meter-long and 45-meter-wide runway and it will be able to accept all types of aircraft. The airport is designed to carry three million passengers a year and it will serve both Rize and Artvin, as well as the entire Black Sea region.

The architecture of the airport is especially noteworthy. The navigation tower of Rize-Artvin Airport will be in the shape of a tea cup, the entrance will be in the shape of a tea leaf, and the Tea Museum will be located in the main building of the airport.

Construction of the airport began in 2017 and should be opened by the end of 2021.

The opening of the new airport was originally scheduled for October 29, 2020, but failed. The cause was a pandemic and a reduced workforce because of it. The construction of the Turkish mega project cost 750 million Turkish lira.