Price is high, natural gas grid winner says

ISTANBUL

Torunlar has won the tender for Başkent Doğalgaz, the natural gas provider for Ankara, on Jan. 26 by placing a $1.16 billion offer. AA photo

Torunlar’s offer in the Başkentgaz natural gas grid tender was higher than our expectation, said the board director of the company, which won one of two privatization tenders the prime minister recently hinted might be canceled due to lower-than-expected offers.

“The processes of these tenders are not finalized at the price offer stages, as you know. The decision is up to the Privatization Administration from now on. We will follow the developments as we expect the process to be completed lawfully,” Aziz Torun, the director of the executive board of Torunlar Food company, told Anatolia news agency yesterday.

‘Beyond desired amount’

After Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan indicated that the privatization of Turkey’s toll roads and bridges with a record bid of $5.72 billion, as well as the country’s second-largest natural gas grid, Başkent Doğalgaz, with a $1.16 million offer, might be canceled by the government, the Privatization Administration will make the final decision.

“The offers for Başkentgaz were beyond the desired amount, or rather the amount it should be,” said Ramazan Ergün, the chairman of the Natural Gas Engineers, Contractors and Producers Association. He said the tender price should have been higher since the tariff of Başkentgaz has been fixed until 2017, which increases the value of grid. Ergün also said there might be new local or foreign potential investors for the privatization.

After three unsuccessful tender attempts and a number of regulations to enhance the allure of Başkent Doğalgaz, the tender was won by Torunlar on Jan. 26. So far $207.6 million in tender guarantees have been forfeited in Başkent Doğalgaz tenders. In the first process, Global Investment couldn’t pay its offer, $1.6 billion, forfeiting the $50 million guarantee, while the controversial Karamehmet-Kazancı partnership failed to pay the $1.2 billion contract price, which led to a total of $207.6 million in forfeited guarantees.