Turkey delays deadline for highway bidding to Oct

The tender includes construction and operational rights of eight roads and two existing bridges across the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul for 25 years.

Turkey's privatisation programme has been hit by a wave of delays as the global funding crunch has reduced firms' ability to take on new projects.

Five consortiums are expected to bid in the tender including Turkish partners Koc Holding, Alarko Holding , Akfen Holding and Madrid-based highway operator Cintra, owned by Spanish infrastructure conglomerate Ferrovial.

Turkish construction firm Limak, which was expected to bid in a consortium with French construction company Vinci , withdrew from the process, a source close to the matter said in April. Vinci is expected to team up with another Turkish construction firm Tepe Insaat instead, the source said.

Turkey previously delayed the tender to August from May.

In January Turkey also cancelled a tender for an estimated $5 billion highways project which included building a third bridge over the Bosphorus strait between Europe and Asia, after builders blamed an international financing squeeze.

The tender was held in May after the delay and a consortium of Italy's Astaldi and Turkey's IC Ictas placed the winning bid for Turkey's North Marmara highway project.