Türkiye: Antalya Airport Expansion Project (Upsize Facility)

OBJECTIVE

To contribute to the initial phase of Antalya Airport sustainable development and connectivity enhancement expansion through the provision of a follow-on capex bridging loan.

DESCRIPTION

The Project comprises three components:

(i) Terminal Works: expansion of International Terminal 2, Domestic Terminal and related carparks;

(ii) Airside Works: additional apron space and taxiways, infrastructure works for new maintenance hangar area, cargo terminal; and

(iii) Other Works: gates, landscaping, on-site solar farm, and others.

The Project will increase the annual capacity of the Antalya Airport (the “Airport”) from 40 million passengers to 80 million passengers in three phases.

At the end of 2021, the Sponsors won the tender and signed the new lease agreement with the Turkish State Airport Authority to develop and operate the Airport. The Sponsors have operated the Airport under the current lease agreement since 2007.

Pursuant to the lease agreement, the Sponsors are required to make an upfront payment amounting to 25 percent of the total rental fee. As such, they have entered into a 2-year loan facility with a syndicate of commercial banks. The Sponsors arranged similar loan facilities to finance the capital expenditure until March 2024 for the expansion works from commercial banks and multilateral development banks, including AIIB (P000639). The proposed loan will finance the remaining capital expenditures and financing costs which occur beyond initial loan tenor, i.e., from March 2024 to September 2025 when all prior short-term loan facilities are expected to be refinanced via a long-term project financing loan.

ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIAL INFORMATION

Environmental and Social Policy, Standards, and Categorization. The upsizing facility is a follow-on Project (P000639) and will be co-financed with EBRD. To ensure a harmonized approach to addressing environmental and social (ES) aspects of the Project, and as permitted by AIIB’s Environmental and Social Policy (AIIB’s ESP), EBRD’s ESP and relevant Performance Requirements (PRs) will apply to this Project in lieu of AIIB’s ESP. AIIB has reviewed EBRD's ESP and PRs and is satisfied that: (i) they are consistent with AIIB's Articles of Agreement and materially consistent with the provisions of AIIB's ESP and the relevant ES Standards (ESSs); and (ii) the monitoring procedures that are in place are appropriate for the Project. EBRD has categorized the ES risks of the Project as Category A (which is equivalent to Category A if AIIB’s ESP were applicable) since the ES risks are assessed to have significant ES impacts and these impacts may affect an area larger than the sites or facilities subject to physical works.

ES Instruments. An Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) was prepared to address the anticipated ES risks and impacts in the Project components and associated facilities. The ESIA also includes a Cumulative Impacts Assessment (CIA), Noise and Air Pollution Assessments, a Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP), and a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) prepared based on a land audit undertaken to assess the resettlement impacts so far and identify measures to address any gaps with EBRD’s PR5. Environmental and Social Action Plan (ESAP) and Supplementary Livelihoods Improvement Plan (SLIP) will guide the Project’s mitigation measures in accordance with requirements of EBRD’s ESP and PRs. The Environmental and Social Due Diligence (ESDD) has confirmed that the Sponsors have the institutional capacity and are delivering the Project in line with EBRD's Performance Requirements. An Independent Lenders E&S Consultant (IESC) has been appointed. The IESC undertook its first monitoring site visit in September 2023 and reviewed multiple deliverables prepared by the Client under the ESAP. The IESC Report confirmed a good E&S team and capacity at the site, and no major concerns or material deviations from Lenders' standards were observed during their site visit. The ESAP implementation is ongoing, with adequate progress made with most open ESAP items.

Environmental Aspects. For the construction phase, the Project will have conventional construction-related ES risks and impacts manifested through dust emissions, water contamination, noise, removal of construction debris, etc. For the operational phase, the major environmental impacts are cumulative noise impact, air pollution, solid waste (including hazard waste), and wastewater. All these impacts will be managed and mitigated through the implementation of the respective Environmental and Social Management Plan (ESMP) or ESAP. Best international practices and EU/ICAO Protocol have been applied to the Project design when addressing legacy noise issues, requiring operational improvements, appropriate ambient noise level monitoring, and extensive stakeholder engagement. Noise management assessment is carried out by reputed consultants and reviewed by the lenders and IESC.

Climate Change Risks and Opportunities. The Airport is certified by the Airport Carbon Accreditation System (ACI-ACA Level 3+) and aims to achieve its net zero carbon policy by 2050. The new terminal will be built based on a sustainable building design for this expansion, in line with international good practice - LEED Gold standards. A climate change risk assessment was prepared and recommended several mitigations and/or adaptation measures to reduce the climate change risk in line with Paris Alignment objectives.

Social Aspects. The Project’s land acquisition started in 2010 with valuation of affected assets according to National Law on Expropriation 2942. 105 parcels were expropriated. All expropriation was handled according to national law. A total of 604 Project Affected Persons (PAPs) were identified as impacted from the Project’s land acquisition. Title deed transfers for all private parcels have been completed in 2017. The land acquisition resulted in physical displacement of 278 PAPs and economic displacement of 173 PAPs. SLIP, covering a detailed implementation plan inclusive of a vulnerable people’s program, a house improvement program, a greenhouse program an employability enhancement program and details on Grievance redress mechanisms, is finalized and implementation is underway.

Stakeholder Engagement, Consultation, and Information Disclosure and Monitoring. A standalone Stakeholder Engagement Plan (SEP) is prepared tailored to gender considerations. Gender equality and additional meaningful consultation are being considered in the implementation of the SEP, which has a participatory and inclusive approach. The ESIA package, including the ESAP, SEP, Non-Technical Summary (NTS), Corrective Action Plan (CAP) in English were disclosed for public consultation by November 2022. The NTS and relevant summaries of ES documents in Turkish language are made available online on the Borrower’s website and hardcopies are available in the Project areas. This documentation is also disclosed on EBRD’s website, and AIIB’s website including links to the disclosures on the Borrower’s website and EBRD’s website. The Borrower will be required to prepare and submit semi-annual ES monitoring reports for AIIB’s review. AIIB will join supervision missions conducted by EBRD.

Project Grievance Redress Mechanism. The Borrower has established Grievance Redress Mechanisms (GRM) at project- level for both employees of the Airport and the local communities or related stakeholders in accordance with EBRD’s PR10 requirements. The information of project-level GRM and EBRD’s Independent Project Accountability Mechanism (IPAM) in local language are disclosed in an appropriate manner. The EPC Contractor has also established its GRM, and the contacts are disclosed in an appropriate manner. As per SEP, a Community Liaison Officer (CLO) is engaged by Client and CLO’s contact information is provided to communities through multiple channels. CLO is constantly engaging with local communities and Project-affected People (PAPs) to further strengthen the grievance redress process.