17.08.2026 16:20
The Sinop Municipality allocated the Yuvam Recreation Facility and the adjacent parking lot to Sin Bel Tourism Trade Limited Company, of which it owns 100 percent of the shares, for a period of 10 years. According to the council decision, a "nominal fee" of 1 lira per month was set for the facility and 1 lira per month for the parking lot. The municipality announced that approximately 15 million lira was spent on the restoration of Yuvam; however, the facility's income, expenses, profit, or financial return to the public budget were not included as a separate account in the published documents.
Sinop Municipality allocated the Yuvam Recreation Facility and the adjacent parking lot to Sin Bel Tourism Trade Limited Company, of which it holds 100 percent of the shares, for a period of 10 years. According to the council decision, a "symbolic fee" of 1 lira per month was set for the facility and 1 lira per month for the parking lot.
The Yuvam Recreation Facility, known for its seaside location, accommodation areas, beach, restaurant, and wedding organizations in Sinop, has been reopened for service. The story the municipality tells the public is one of a "renewed social facility." However, the story told by the documents is longer: municipal property, a municipal company, a 10-year lease, symbolic rent, capital worth millions, and a massive investment made with public resources.
MONTHLY RENT IS ONLY 2 LIRA
According to the decision numbered 360 of the Sinop Municipal Council dated August 5, 2024, the 8,667.52 square meter Yuvam Recreation Facility was leased to Sin Bel for a symbolic fee of 1 lira per month.
In the same decision, it was decided to give the 4,911 square meter area adjacent to the facility to the company for use as a parking lot, again for a symbolic fee of 1 lira per month.
LEASE PERIOD IS A FULL 10 YEARS
Thus, the initial rent determined for Yuvam and the parking lot became a total of 2 lira per month and a total of 24 lira per year. The decision stipulated that the fee would be increased each year, taking into account the PPI and CPI rates.
Articles 64 and 71 of State Tender Law No. 2886 were cited as the basis for the decision. The mayor was authorized to sign a protocol with the company.
THE COMPANY'S CAPITAL INCREASED TO 15.4 MILLION LIRA
Sin Bel, to which Yuvam was leased, is the company in which Sinop Municipality holds 100 percent of the shares. The company's capital was increased from 400 thousand lira to 5.4 million lira with the council decision numbered 361 dated August 5, 2024. With a subsequent capital increase, the registered capital rose to 15.4 million lira.
According to the subsidiary table in the Court of Accounts' 2024 Regularity Audit Report for Sinop Municipality, Sin Bel's capital is 15.4 million lira. In the same table, the municipality's capital payment to the company as of the end of 2024 is shown as 8.4 million lira. However, these two amounts do not mean the same thing: 15.4 million lira is the company's registered capital; 8.4 million lira is the amount of capital paid by the municipality by the end of the year.
TENDER WORTH 7.9 MILLION LIRA IN THE ACTIVITY REPORT
In Sinop Municipality's 2025 Activity Report, the tender price for the "Yuvam Recreation Facility Renovation Construction Work" was written as 7 million 966 thousand 926 lira 93 kuruş. The amount seen in the EKAP record for the same work, 6 million 679 thousand 845 lira 5 kuruş, bears the title "contract price."
The tender price in the municipal report and the contract price in EKAP were published under different item names. In the municipality's own activity report, however, there is a tender price of 7 million 966 thousand 926 lira 93 kuruş for the Yuvam renovation work.
"IT HAD STARTED TO BE OPERATED BY OUR MUNICIPALITY"
Although Sin Bel is the party that received the usage and operating rights of Yuvam for 10 years, the company's name is not used in the Yuvam section of the municipality's 2025 Activity Report.
The report includes the following statement:
"It has started to be operated by our municipality."
This statement establishes a general municipal narrative in terms of ownership and public possession. However, the information that the legal and financial counterparty of the operation is Sin Bel, in which the municipality holds 100 percent of the shares, does not appear in the same section describing Yuvam.
THE 15 MILLION ANNOUNCED BY THE MUNICIPALITY
The renovation tender does not alone show all the expenditure announced for Yuvam. In Sinop Municipality's 2025 Service Bulletin, it is stated that the facility was renewed with an investment of approximately 15 million lira. The bulletin describes the renovations carried out in the accommodation units, restaurant, beach, organization areas, and other sections.
Accordingly, the tender price of 7.9 million lira and the statement of "approximately 15 million lira restoration" are another contradictory point. The former is the tender price of a specific construction work; the latter is the approximate total cost announced by the municipality for the renewal of Yuvam.
YUVAM'S BALANCE SHEET WAS NOT DISCLOSED
In Sinop Municipality's 2025 Activity Report, total municipal revenue was announced as 826 million 236 thousand 232 lira 64 kuruş. However, this total does not show Yuvam's operating account.
In the published documents, there is no financial table that brings together the following headings for Yuvam separately:
• annual turnover,
• accommodation, restaurant, beach, and organization revenues,
• personnel and material expenses,
• period profit or loss,
• rent paid to the municipality,
• profit share transferred to the municipality.
Therefore, it is not possible to calculate how much Yuvam earned or lost based on the municipality's total revenue figure.
ANOTHER 10 MILLION IN THE 2026 PROGRAM
In Sinop Municipality's 2026 Performance Program, a budgeted resource need of 10 million lira was foreseen for "Yuvam Enterprises Maintenance and Support Works." However, this figure is not an actual expenditure; it was announced as the planned resource need for 2026.
However, the document shows that Yuvam is not only a completed restoration project but that its relationship with the municipal budget will continue in the following period.
KNOWN COST, UNKNOWN RESULT
This facility, owned by the municipality, is leased for 10 years to the company in which the municipality holds 100 percent of the shares. An initial symbolic fee of a total of 2 lira per month is set for the facility and the parking lot. The company's capital is increased to millions of lira. An investment of approximately 15 million lira is announced for the renewal of Yuvam, and a new resource need of 10 million lira is planned for 2026.
In contrast, in the examined public official documents, no separate operating account specific to Yuvam was found that collectively shows the facility's annual income, expenses, profit or loss, and the financial return it provides to the municipal budget other than rent.
This news does not claim that the lease or the investment is unlawful. The issue revealed by the documents is that the financial result of this facility, which uses public resources and is operated in the name of the municipality, has not been published with the same clarity.
The municipality states approximately how much it has invested in Yuvam. However, the reviewed activity report, service bulletin, performance program, council decisions, and Court of Accounts report do not include a separate account showing how much income Yuvam generated with this investment and how much financial return, other than rent, it provided to the municipal budget. The cost of the public investment is known, but the financial results of the facility operated on behalf of the public are not published in public documents.