ISTANBUL: Turkish Airlines said it held groundbreaking ‍ceremonies ‍on Thursday for eight ​new facilities with a total investment value ⁠exceeding 100 billion lira ($2.32 billion) at several ⁠locations, primarily its ‌home base Istanbul Airport.

The projects included investments in Europe's ⁠largest wide-body aircraft engine maintenance facility, the world's largest aircraft catering facility, the second phase of ⁠SmartIST which will be ​the world's largest cargo terminal, additional aircraft maintenance hangars, ‍and an e-commerce complex, it said.

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

($1 = 43.0424 liras) (Reporting by Ceyda Caglayan; ⁠Editing by Daren Butler)