ÖİB Deputy President Ahmet Aksu told reporters yesterday in Ankara that the administration aimed to complete the privatization of Başkent following a tender this year. “We can open a tender very soon,” Aksu said in his meeting with the press.
With 1.2 million subscribers, Başkent Doğalgaz is the second-largest natural gas distribution firm in Turkey. The efforts to privatize the company were launched on July 2, 2009. The Ankara monopoly has a natural gas distribution license valid till 2037.
On privatization of electricity transmission companies, Aksu said the tender process of eight of 20 companies had been completed and $5.1 billion had been obtained from the privatization of electricity transmission companies in 11 regions. Aksu said the administration was planning to launch tenders for the rest of the companies this year. There are 18 thermal and 56 hydroelectric power plants which remain to be privatized, Aksu also said. Turkey earned around $2.3 billion from privatization projects in 2009.
Meanwhile, the ÖİB on Thursday opened a tender for the privatization of four electricity distribution companies, including Boğaziçi Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş., Dicle Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş., Gediz Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. and Trakya Elektrik Dağıtım A.Ş. The administration demands at least TL 45 million for the privatization of the four companies, which dominate 30 percent of the domestic market and serve around 8 million subscribers.
