INVESTMENT POLICY REGARDING TURKEY'S INFRASTRUCTURE
According to the Ministry of Transport, the total revenue from all toll roads in Turkey in 2008 was USD 121 million. The total revenue from the two bridges crossing the Istanbul Strait was USD 100 million during the same period.
Airports, ports, railways and roads are major areas of investment in terms of infrastructure. According to the Privatization Administration, the privatization of motorways and bridges is one of the top-priority projects. The scope of privatization of motorways and bridges covers Turkey's motorways, bridges and service facilities. These are to be privatized via a "Transfer of Operating Rights" agreement. Due to its geopolitical location, Turkey is an industrial hub with an attractive privatization portfolio.
The expansion of Sabiha Gokcen International Airport, the construction of 3 new airports and the construction of Bodrum Airport are major airport projects planned in Turkey.
Since 1997, the ports of Tekirdag, Rize, Ordu, Sinop, Giresun, Hopa, Antalya, Marmaris, Alanya, Cesme, Kusadasi, Trabzon and Dikili have been privatized. One of the major examples of port privatization has been the Port of Mersin, a 36-year concession worth USD 777 million. The concession was won by a consortium of Singapore PSA and the Turkish Construction firm Akfen, in May 2007. Derince Port was also privatized in 2007 at a total investment cost of USD 100 million.
The railway sector is one of the potential markets in Turkey's infrastructure, offering many growth opportunities. On March 13, 2009, the first portion of the Ankara-Istanbul fast rail system, the Ankara-Eskisehir line, was constructed; the construction of the last portion, Eskisehir-Istanbul, is still under way. The construction of the tunnel passage of Istanbul's subway network underneath the Bosphorus, Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway and the Syria-Turkey railway will contribute to the development of multimodal transportation in Turkey.
(source : TYDTA)
