Group wins power grid for $546 mln

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

After several failures in gas and electricity gridprivatizations, the government is raising hopes for high income sell-offs next year. Unicredit recently forecasted Turkish privatization volume to reach $10 billion between 2013 and 2014. REUTERS photo

The Cengiz-Kolin-Limak joint venture has placed the largest bid on a government tender to sell Akdeniz Elektrik Dağıtım, the power distribution company in the Mediterranean region, likely putting an end to the privatization process of another grid after a number of failed attempts.

Alsim Alarko, one of the four bidders, was eliminated in the initial phase of yesterday’s tender, which Cengiz-Kolin-Limak won over the Elsan-Tümaş-Karaçay joint venture and Genpa Telekomünikasyon, with a $546 million bid.

The grid, which demands 5 billion kwh of electricity, covers the provinces of Antalya, Burdur and Isparta, serving 1.67 million subscribers.

İsmail Ergüneş, the executive board chairman of the winning party, told journalists after the tender that the group plans to invest around $350 million to $400 million in the facilities in three years time, investments that will include putting power lines underground and focusing on energy grid tenders.
Ergüneş said the highest bid in an initial tender held two years ago, which was $1.165 billion, was irrational.

Limak, one of the rapidly growing companies in the joint venture, won the Kosovo power grid last month with a joint bid of $26.3 million with Çalık, a rival in Turkish grid tenders.

Istanbul grid

One of the top assets on the government’s privatization agenda is Boğaziçi Elektrik, the grid on Istanbul’s European side, whose tender application deadline is today.

The Privatization Board has announced that it has received 12 applications for the privatization of Boğaziçi, including from Park Holding and Aksa, applications which were cancelled in an initial tender.
The applicants will be required to provide a $30 million down payment.

The list of applicants, which also include yesterday’s winning Cengiz-Kolin-Limak joint venture, boast some of the largest companies in the country, such as Enerjisa, Park Holding, Genpa Telekomünikasyon, Aksa Elektrik, Çalık Enerji, Zorlu Holding, the Elsan-Tümaş-Karaçay joint venture, Özyazıcı İnşaat Elektrik, Tata Power Company Limited, IC İçtaş İnşaat and Torunlar Gıda.

The Karamehmet-Kazancı joint venture company MMEKA had submitted the highest bid during the first tender. Aksa had come in second, followed by Park Holding. Despite asking for additional time, these companies were not able to make the necessary down payments.