Turkey’s presidency has denied reports that two landmark İstanbul bridges are being prepared for sale, saying only that their operating rights could be transferred to the private sector.
The statement came after Bloomberg reported on September 8 that the government had revived plans to privatize the 15 July Martyrs and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges, along with at least nine highways. Citing people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said the Privatization Administration had asked investment banks for proposals, though the talks were at an early stage and might not result in a deal.
Son günlerde bazı basın organları ve sosyal medya hesaplarında “15 Temmuz Şehitler Köprüsü, Fatih Sultan Mehmet Köprüsü ve ülke genelinde otoyollar satılıyor” iddiası dolaşıma sokulmuş, bu iddialar kamuoyunu yanıltmaya yönelik bir dezenformasyon kampanyasının parçası olmuştur.… pic.twitter.com/aYa88D0gpb
— Dezenformasyonla Mücadele Merkezi (@dmmiletisim) September 12, 2025
The presidency’s Directorate of Communications issued a clarification four days later, saying claims of an outright sale were “completely false.”
“The ownership of highways and bridges remains with the state. Only the right to operate and maintain them for a certain period can be transferred to the private sector,” the statement said. It added that the legal framework for such arrangements was introduced in 1994 under Law No. 4046 on privatization practices and that similar transfers had been carried out before the current government came to power.
Officials said the medium-term economic plan includes revenue targets from operating-rights transfers, not sales. They also described the current process as one of hiring financial and technical advisors, while examining global examples and alternative financing models.
“The claim that these assets will be sold to foreigners or permanently taken out of state hands is entirely unfounded,” the statement said.
In 2012 the bridges and eight highways were offered in a tender, won by a consortium of Koç Holding, Malaysia’s UEM Group and Gözde Girişim. The bid was worth $5.7 billion over 25 years, but then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan dismissed it as too low, saying an agreement under $7 billion would be “treason.” The tender was canceled in 2013.
The bridges, operated by the state-run General Directorate of Highways, carry hundreds of thousands of vehicles daily across the Bosporus Strait, a vital shipping route linking the Black Sea and the Mediterranean.