Turkey has hired Ernst & Young to advise on a major privatization plan involving two of İstanbul’s most prominent bridges and a network of toll highways, according to people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported.
The London-based firm, commonly known as EY, will guide the government on the sale of operating rights for the 15 July Martyrs Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which link İstanbul’s European and Asian sides.
The deal is also expected to include at least nine toll roads, the sources told Bloomberg, speaking on condition of anonymity because the details are not public.
Canada-based BTY Group has been appointed as the technical adviser for the transaction, and the Turkish government is preparing to launch a formal tender process later this year, according to the report.
Turkey has previously attempted to privatize the bridges and highways. In 2012 a tender covering both bridges and roughly 2,000 kilometers of roads produced a winning bid of $5.7 billion but ultimately collapsed after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was prime minister at the time, said selling the assets for less than $7 billion would amount to “treason.” Officials now expect bids to exceed that level, Bloomberg said.
The two bridges are among the busiest transport links in the country. Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said in July that about 430,000 vehicles cross them daily. Under current pricing, a standard passenger car pays a toll of 59 Turkish liras, or about $1.36, each way.
EY and BTY Group did not respond to requests for comment, Bloomberg reported. Turkey’s Treasury and Finance Ministry could not be reached immediately. Some details about the advisory appointments were previously reported by Mergermarket.
EY is one of the world’s four largest accounting and consulting firms and has previously worked on bridge, highway and hospital projects in Turkey, according to information published on its website.