EBRD gives 100 mln euro in funding to Türk Telekom

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Türk Telekom’s Group CFO Mustafa Uysal says that Türk Telekom will be a big contributor to the development of more remote regions in Turkey via the EBRD loan. Hürriyet photo

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supporting the expansion of broadband internet services in eastern regions of Turkey with a 100 million euro loan to Türk Telekom, the leading telecommunications group in Turkey providing integrated telecoms services from traditional phone and mobile to broadband internet.

The EBRD’s financing will support Türk Telekom’s ambitious strategy to extend broadband infrastructure in all provinces of Turkey, including the most remote ones, by 2016. The proceeds of the loan will be used to finance capital expenditures for fixed broadband network expansion in the regions of Adana, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Kayseri, Samsun and Trabzon in Turkey.

“Supporting economies through innovation and technology is one of the EBRD’s priorities and we are very pleased to finance this important project in Turkey implemented by a strong and reliable partner such as Türk Telekom. The EBRD’s financing will enable Türk Telekom to bring modern, high speed internet services to households and businesses in the remote regions of the country where such services are limited or currently do not exist,” said Sevki Acuner, the EBRD’s Deputy Director for Turkey, in an EBRD press release.

Mustafa Uysal, Türk Telekom’s Group CFO also said “Türk Telekom, by carrying out its investment program all throughout Turkey, assumes an important role in shaping Turkey’s future and makes it clear that it will be a leading contributor to and part of that future. As technological infrastructure is essential for eliminating the development level differences between regions, the partnership between the EBRD and Türk Telekom is very important due to its economic and social dimensions.”