New model for selling Ankara’s gas grid

ANKARA - Anatolia News Agency

‘We could not achieve our goal on Başkent Doğalgaz,’ says Ahmet Aksu. AA photo

Turkey’s Privatization Administration (ÖİB) is working on a new model to privatize Başkent Doğalgaz, Ankara’s natural gas grid which has seen multiple privatization failures, Ahmet Aksu, the head of the administration has said. A new tender will be initiated as soon as possible, he added. “We could not achieve our goal on Başkent Doğalgaz as our vision has not matched up with that of investors,” he said.

“We are working on a new model [to privatize the natural gas grid] for the next tender bearing in mind [the experiences we have had] from previous tenders. We will hold talks with the Ministry of Energy, the Energy Market Regulatory Authority [EPDK] and the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality.”

Port privatizations

Noting that several properties of various scales are put on tender every day, he said, “Tenders including the İzmir, Derince and Tekirdağ ports and Galataport will be initiated this year.”

The authority plans to privatize the İzmir Cruise Port and four or five marinas this year as well, he said.
“Electricity transmission has been broken down into 20 regions and 12 of them have been handed over to the private sector,” he said, adding that the Lake Van and Dicle electricity distribution companies were of top priority in the privatization process.

There are companies in the electricity production field as well as the distribution field, he said. Nearly half of the installed power capacity of Turkey belongs to Elektrik Üretim (EÜAŞ), he added.

Tenders regarding the operating rights of bridges and highways for 25 years will be initiated this year, too, he said, adding that the privatization revenues would be reinvested in new highway construction.
Nearly $32 billion of privatization revenue has been transferred to the Treasury since 1984 and it has been used in paying internal and external debts, he said.