Privatization of power grids over, Turkey's finance minister says

ANKARA – Anadolu Agency

Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek says Turkey will earn $12.7 billion in total from the privatizations in the power distribution sector. DHA photo

The privatizations in the power distribution sector were completed this week with the transfer of the Toroslar Elektrik (Power Distribution company) to the private sector, said Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek, adding that a total of $12.7 billion was obtained from the privatization of 18 state-run companies in the sector.

“These companies now begin to make profit, and enable the state to earn money by paying their taxes as well as paying their privatization costs,” Şimşek said.

The final negotiations on the privatization of four electricity distributing companies – Toroslar, Ayedaş, Van Gölü and Dicle – took place on March 15, putting $3.457 billion in the state’s cash box, almost $3 billion which came from Enerjisa, which won the tender for the two largest grids.

Enerjisa, jointly owned by Turkey’s Sabancı and German energy giant E.ON, has placed the highest bids for the largest of the two grids: AYEDAŞ, which operates on the Asian side of Istanbul, and Toroslar Elektrik, operating in the Adana region in southern Turkey.

The company paid 40 percent of the contract, $690 million, for Toroslar at the beginning of this week, adding that the remaining amount would be paid in three equal parts in the next three years.

Meanwhile, the İşkaya Doğu joint venture placed the highest bid for the privatization of Dicle Elektrik, the electricity distributor operating in Turkey’s southeastern provinces, with a $387-million proposal. Türkerler won the tender for Vangölü Elektrik with a $188-million offer.