Earthquake fault line in central Turkey up for sale

ESKİŞEHİR

Public land encompassing a fault line in the Central Anatolian province of Eskişehir has been put up for sale by Turkey’s Privatization High Council (ÖYK), drawing reactions from an influential NGO.

The ÖYK announced in the Official Gazette on May 8 that public land in Eskişehir’s Odunpazarı district, which is listed as a zone containing “residences, a green space, a road, university land and a fault line,” is available for purchase.

Ahmet Atalık, the Istanbul head of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects (TMMOB), objected to the plan. “After revenue-generating public institutions, now it’s the turn of fault lines to be privatized [by the Turkish government],” Atalık said.

He also stressed that the ÖYK had put up other public assets for sale in the listing dated May 8, including the only agricultural land in Istanbul’s Sarıyer neighborhood and “extremely cheap” properties in the center of Istanbul’s historical peninsula.

“The authorities should consult professional chambers on the issue, including the privization of other important land plots,” Atalık added.