05.09.2026 12:50
Following the decision to transfer the operating rights of the July 15 Martyrs' and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges, along with 8 motorways and 2 ring roads, for a period of 30 years, the Ministry of Treasury and Finance made a statement. The Ministry emphasized that ownership will remain with the state, and stated that the claim that the motorways generate an annual profit of 600 million dollars does not reflect the truth.
By a presidential decree, many highways, connection roads, and Bosphorus bridges under the responsibility of the General Directorate of Highways (KGM) have been included in the scope of privatization. The privatization processes, which will be carried out for 30 years without transferring ownership, will be completed by December 31, 2031.
NEWLY ADDED AND PREVIOUSLY INCLUDED ROADS
With the published decree, the Niğde-Pozantı Motorway, Gaziantep Ring Road, and Bursa Ring Road, along with their relevant connection roads and service facilities, have been included in the privatization program. The decree also referred to the 15 July Martyrs' and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges, which were included in 2010, as well as the Edirne-Istanbul-Ankara, Pozantı-Tarsus-Mersin, Tarsus-Adana-Gaziantep, Toprakkale-İskenderun, Gaziantep-Şanlıurfa, İzmir-Çeşme, İzmir-Aydın motorways, and the İzmir and Ankara ring roads.
NO TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP, KGM WILL SUPERVISE
For the roads to be privatized in whole or in part, including their facilities, connection roads, and toll booths, there will be no transfer of ownership. For projects to be transferred for 30 years through models such as the transfer of operating rights, leasing, or revenue sharing, maintenance and repair works will be carried out by KGM until the transfer processes are completed. After the operations are transferred, KGM will assume only a supervisory role.
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STATEMENT FROM THE MINISTRY OF TREASURY AND FINANCE
An announcement regarding the aforementioned motorways and bridges was made on the website of the Privatization Administration Presidency (ÖİB), affiliated with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance.
In the statement, it was noted that technical, legal, and financial preparatory studies for the motorways and bridges operated by KGM are being carried out in coordination with relevant institutions.
"PRIORITY IS TO RAISE SERVICE QUALITY"
In the statement, which noted that these routine preparatory studies are aimed at "evaluating a model based not on the sale of public assets, but on the transfer of operating rights for a certain period, provided that ownership remains with the state," the following was recorded:
"In this model, the priority is not to generate income, but to raise the quality of service on motorways, accelerate maintenance and investments, and increase operational efficiency. On the other hand, there are incomplete and misleading evaluations in the public opinion that motorways make an annual profit of 600 million dollars and that the total profit over 30 years reaches 18 billion dollars. However, 600 million dollars is not profit, but revenue. Approximately 300 million dollars of this amount is allocated to maintenance and repair expenses. Furthermore, there are significant investment and renewal expenditures, as well as personnel and operating expenses. Calculations made by ignoring all these costs do not reflect the true economic value of the motorways and mislead the public."
"ANNUAL PROFIT OF 600 MILLION DOLLARS IS NOT CORRECT"
In the statement, it was said: "Therefore, directly multiplying 600 million dollars by 30 years to calculate '30-year profit' or 'public loss' is not technically and financially valid. In infrastructure valuations, traffic projections, maintenance and renewal investments, operating and personnel expenses, financing costs, and risks are considered together."
Emphasizing that the main purpose of the ongoing studies is to increase service quality, accelerate maintenance and investments, raise operational efficiency, and establish sustainable infrastructure management, the statement underlined that there are no decisions to make free motorways toll-based, to make any additional increase in toll fees, or to cause employees to lose their existing rights.
In the statement, it was emphasized that the Presidential Decree published in today's Official Gazette does not signify the initiation of a privatization tender but authorizes the ÖİB regarding the actions to be taken, and it was noted that all stages of the process are carried out by the Presidency within the framework of relevant legislation, based on the principles of transparency, competition, and accountability.