Turkmenistan’s President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov hailed his country’s “solid transit potential” as he unveiled an international airport (Bird-Shaped Airport) worth over $2 billion in the capital Ashgabat.
Turkmenistan has unveiled a gleaming new international airport with a roof in the shape of a flying falcon, according to the BBC.
Bird-Shaped Airport – Phoyography: IGOR SASIN
The design reportedly echoes the mascot of its national carrier.The five-floor airport is built in the shape of a giant bird – echoing the logo of the Central Asian state carrier Turkmenistan airlines – by Turkish construction company Polimeks who won a USD 2 billion contract in 2013.
The $2.3 billion airport is located in Ashgabat, the capital, and has the capacity to process more than 1,600 passengers an hour.
But few foreigners visit the isolated Central Asian country, known for its autocratic leadership and vast energy reserves.
Bird-Shaped Airport
Just 105,000 tourists visited in 2015, government figures show, and it is difficult to get a visa.
President Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov touted his country’s “solid transit potential.”
Ashgabat boasts several other unique structures, including a publishing house in shape of an open book.
Bird-Shaped Airport
The city also has two giant golden statues of both Mr. Berdymukhammedov and his late predecessor Saparmyrat Niyazov.