No new assets added to privatization portfolio, says Şimşek

ISTANBUL

The government does not mull adding new assets to the privatization portfolio, Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek has said.

The companies under the current privatization program include the Electricity Generation Corporation (EÜAŞ), some ports and hydropower plants, as well as land plots, highways and bridges, he told lawmakers at the plan and budget commission of parliament.

There are no new assets which have been included or plan to be included in the scope of privatization, Şimşek said.

Meanwhile, the Treasury and Finance Ministry issued a statement regarding a report in a daily which suggested that highways and bridges will be “sold.”

In his speech at the commission, the minister did not mention the word “sales” for the assets, the statement noted, adding that it was the daily’s interpretation that bridges and highways will be sold.

“The minister clearly referred to the assets that are already included in Türkiye's privatization program and some of which have even been within the scope of privatization for years,” the statement said.

Between 1986 and 2023, privatization revenues amounted to $71 billion, according to the data from the Privatization Board (ÖİB).

Privatization revenues stood at around only $27 million in 1988 and hit a record $12.5 billion in 2013.

Last year, privatization proceeds were $504 million, while they amounted to $136 million so far this year.