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Türkiye has stepped up efforts to attract investors for a large-scale privatization of state-run highways and bridges, including the iconic Bosphorus crossings in Istanbul, with a government delegation holding talks with a Portuguese firm in recent weeks, Reuters reported.
Officials from the country’s privatization board, joined by consultancy Ernst & Young, previously reported to have been hired to oversee the process, met potential investors as Ankara weighs offering concession rights for key transport assets rather than outright sales, according to the report.
A Turkish delegation met senior executives from Brisa, Portugal’s largest highway operator, on Thursday at Ankara’s request to discuss the planned process, one source with direct knowledge of the meeting told Reuters.
Among the assets under consideration are the 15 July Martyrs Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge in Istanbul, two major Bosphorus crossings that handle some of the city’s busiest daily traffic flows between Europe and Asia.
Transport Minister Abdulkadir Uraloglu stated last month that the government is not planning outright sales but instead preparing tenders for concession rights, allowing private firms to operate the assets for a defined period.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek also earlier pushed back against claims that Ankara is considering fully privatizing the bridges, stating that no new step has been approved to privatize key transport assets.
The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge carried around 239,217 vehicles per day, while the 15 July Martyrs Bridge handled approximately 185,301 daily crossings in 2025, according to data from Türkiye’s General Directorate of Highways.
Official motorway data also show that Türkiye’s highway network spans thousands of kilometers, combining state-funded roads with PPP-built corridors that operate under concession models.
Across the network, a total of 1.1 billion vehicle crossings were recorded on Türkiye’s highways and bridges in 2025. Of these, 585.9 million crossings took place on state-operated routes, while PPP-built motorways and bridges accounted for 536.4 million crossings over the year.
Revenue from these crossings reached ₺1.88 billion ($43.17 million), according to Treasury data.
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