No Sale, Only Operating Rights Will Be Granted

Turkey’s Privatization Administration has sought to end speculation over the future of state-operated highways and bridges, saying the assets would not be sold.

The administration said preparations concern a model in which ownership remains with the state while operating rights are transferred for a specified period. Technical, legal and financial work is continuing in coordination with relevant institutions and under what it described as a transparent process that complies with legislation.

The administration said the priority of the model would not be revenue generation. Instead, it would aim to improve service quality on the highways, speed up maintenance and investment, and increase operating efficiency.

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This model concerns evaluating a system based not on the sale of public assets, but on transferring operating rights while ownership remains with the state.

It also challenged public calculations that highways generate $600 million in annual profit and $18 billion over 30 years. The administration said $600 million represented revenue, not profit, and that roughly $300 million was allocated to maintenance and repairs. It added that investment, renewal, staffing and operating costs also needed to be counted.

A presidential decision published in Turkey’s Official Gazette added the Niğde-Pozantı Highway, the Gaziantep Ring Highway and the section of the Bursa Ring Highway between the Çağlayan and Yenişehir junctions to the existing privatization program. The operating contracts were set at 30 years.

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The priority in this model is not to generate revenue, but to improve service quality on highways, accelerate maintenance and investment, and increase operating efficiency.