Turkish Airlines said it has held groundbreaking ceremonies for eight major new facilities, marking one of the largest investment programmes in its history, with total spending expected to exceed 100 billion Turkish lira, or about $2.32 billion.

The projects are located across several sites, primarily at the airline’s main hub, Istanbul Airport. According to the company, the expansion is designed to strengthen its position across aircraft maintenance, cargo, catering, and logistics as global air travel demand continues to grow.

Among the planned developments is what Turkish Airlines described as Europe’s largest wide-body aircraft engine maintenance facility, as well as the world’s largest aircraft catering complex. The programme also includes the second phase of SmartIST, which is expected to become the world’s largest air cargo terminal once completed.

Additional investments cover new aircraft maintenance hangars and a large-scale e-commerce complex aimed at supporting the airline’s growing logistics and freight operations.

“These investments, which will start with 26,000 new jobs in 2026, will provide over 36,000 jobs when all phases are completed,” Turkish Airlines Chairman Ahmet Bolat said in a statement.

Bolat added that the airline’s overall economic contribution is expected to rise sharply as the projects come online. “While our company’s contribution to our country’s economy is currently $65 billion, this figure will reach $144 billion when we reach our targeted peak in 2033,” he said.

The announcement underscores Turkish Airlines’ ambition to turn Istanbul into one of the world’s most important aviation, cargo, and maintenance hubs, leveraging its geographic position between Europe, Asia, and the Middle East while expanding capacity well beyond passenger services.