Three motorways under the responsibility of the General Directorate of Highways, their connecting roads and goods and service units along these routes—including maintenance and operating facilities, service facilities, toll collection centers and freight transfer centers—have been placed under the scope and program of privatization.
The presidential decision on the matter was published in the Official Gazette. The Privatization Administration said technical, legal and financial preparations concerning the motorways and bridges operated by the General Directorate of Highways were continuing in coordination with the relevant institutions.
Operating rights model under consideration
The administration said the routine preparations were aimed not at selling public assets, but at evaluating a model based on transferring operating rights for a specified period while ownership remained with the state.
Under the model, the priority would be to improve service quality on the motorways, accelerate maintenance and investment, and increase operating efficiency rather than primarily generate revenue. The administration said the work was intended to establish sustainable infrastructure management.
Statement on $600 million in annual revenue
The administration said assessments that the motorways generate $600 million in annual profit and that their total profit over 30 years has reached $18 billion were incomplete and misleading. It said the $600 million was revenue, not profit, and that approximately $300 million of it was allocated to maintenance and repair expenses.
It stressed that substantial investment and renewal expenditures, as well as personnel, operating and other costs, must also be taken into account. Calculations that disregard these costs, it said, do not reflect the motorways' actual economic value.
The administration said it was technically and financially invalid to calculate 30-year profit or public loss by directly multiplying $600 million by 30. It said infrastructure valuations must assess traffic projections, maintenance and renewal investments, operating and personnel expenses, financing costs and risks together.
Statement on tolls and employee rights
The Privatization Administration said there was no decision to make free motorways toll roads or to impose additional increases on tolls. It also said no decision had been taken that would cause employees to lose their existing rights.
It stressed that the presidential decision published in the Official Gazette did not mean that a privatization tender had been launched, but authorized the Privatization Administration to carry out the necessary procedures. The administration said all stages of the process would be conducted within the framework of the relevant legislation and in line with the principles of transparency, competition and accountability.
