Auction for Istanbul's Golden Horn project to be held today

ANKARA

An auction is expected to be held today for the privatization of the shipyards in Istanbul’s Golden Horn (Haliç). DAILY NEWS photo / Emrah Gürel

An auction is expected to be held today for the privatization of the shipyards in Istanbul’s Golden Horn (Haliç).

The Sembol-Ekopark İnşaat-Fine Otelcilik joint venture and Cengiz-Taca-Galeri İnşaat joint venture presented their offers for the Haliç Yacht Port and Complex Project on July 2, following the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model, organized by the Ministry of Transport, Maritime and Communication.

The commission report for the bidding companies’ offers was approved Anadolu Agency reported yesterday. The documents of the bidding companies were checked and their suitability for the technical specifications was examined. The tender commission invited the bidding companies that were found adequate for auction. The bid that offers the highest rent will be submitted for the approval of the Ministry of Transport. If Minister Binali Yıldırım approves the offer, the tender will be finalized.

The project for the privatization of Camialtı and Taşkızak shipyards in the Golden Horn includes two yacht ports, two five-star hotels – each with 400 rooms – a big mosque for 1,000 persons and shopping malls and parks in the area of around 230,000 square meters. The winning company or consortium will build the tourism complex in four years and hold the operation rights for 49 years.

Conservation of the historical structures of the area, which is over 500 years old, is to be taken into account. The Golden Horn is near Karaköy where the Galataport privatization was recently held. Doğuş Holding made the highest offer for the privatization of the Istanbul Salıpazarı Port Area, commonly known as Galataport, with a $702 million bid, winning the right to operate the port area for 30 years. The Privatization Authority (ÖİB) attempted to lease the area for 49 years in 2005, and a consortium headed by renowned, now deceased, Israeli businessman Sami Ofer and his Turkish partner, Global Yatırım won the tender after outbidding their competitors with a 3.5 million-euro bid.