Dünya - A large number of domestic and foreign investors are expected to bid for Turkey’s major highways and bridges that were put on sale as a single package by the country’s Privatization Administration (OIB). The administration has recently extended the due date for the application for preliminary qualification until September 3rd and the final bid date until October 31st.

Turkey’s Koc, Limak, Akfen as well as international giants like Astaldi, Posco and Autostrade are among possible bidders for the tender, which covers over 2,000 km of highways and the two bridges over Istanbul Strait.

The privatization tender gives the winning company or consortium a 25-years operating period for the package that includes the two bridges over the Bosphorus with their ring motorways, Edirne-Istanbul-Ankara Motorway, Pozanti-Tarsus-Mersin Motorway, Tarsus-Adana-Gaziantep Motorway, Toprakkale-Iskenderun Motorway, Gaziantep-Sanliurfa Motorway, Izmir-Cesme Motorway, Izmir-Aydin Motorway and Izmir and Ankara Ring Motorways. The privatization is expected to raise USD 5-6 billion.