Newsletters
French infrastructure investor Meridiam is preparing to bid for the operating rights of Istanbul's two landmark Bosphorus bridges as Türkiye moves toward launching a long-awaited privatization tender, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
The company is planning to team up with Turkish contractor Makyol in a consortium that will compete for the assets, while several other Turkish construction firms are also looking to join forces with foreign investors ahead of the bidding process, the report stated.
Founded in Paris in 2005, Meridiam is a French infrastructure investment firm specializing in the long-term development, financing and operation of public infrastructure.
As of the end of 2025, it managed approximately €24 billion in assets across more than 130 projects, according to the information on its website. Among its flagship investments are the Port of Miami Tunnel in the U.S., the Long Beach Courthouse in California, Germany's A5 motorway and Finland's E18 motorway.
The company entered the Turkish market through four integrated city hospital projects, including the Adana and Gaziantep healthcare campuses, which it developed with Ronesans Holding under a public-private partnership (PPP) model.
Makyol is one of Türkiye's leading infrastructure developers, with experience in both construction and concession projects. Through Otoyol AS, it is a shareholder in the operator of the Gebze–Orhangazi–Izmir Motorway and Osmangazi Bridge under a build-operate-transfer model.
In April, Reuters reported that Portugal's largest highway operator, Brisa, was also in talks with Turkish officials to explore participating in the privatization process.
The privatization is expected to cover the operating rights for the 15 July Martyrs Bridge, Istanbul's first Bosphorus crossing, opened in 1973; the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, the city's second Bosphorus bridge, inaugurated in 1988; and nine state-owned toll highways, according to earlier reports.
The tender is expected to be split into four separate packages, while global consultancy Ernst & Young has been appointed to oversee the privatization process, the report noted.
The Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge, which forms part of the Trans-European Motorway network and serves as a key freight corridor between Europe and Asia, carried an average of 239,217 vehicles per day in 2025.
The 15 July Martyrs Bridge, primarily serving urban traffic between Istanbul's European and Asian sides, handled about 185,301 daily vehicle crossings, according to Türkiye's General Directorate of Highways.
Together with other state-owned toll highways, the network recorded 585.9 million vehicle crossings in 2025, generating nearly ₺1.9 billion ($43.2 million) in toll revenue.
Türkiye previously attempted to privatize the Bosphorus bridges and 1,975 kilometers of highways in 2012.
A $5.7 billion bid from a consortium comprising Turkish conglomerate Koc Holding, Malaysian infrastructure developer UEM Group and Gozde Girisim, the investment arm of Ulker, won the tender, but the sale was later shelved after then-prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said offers below $7 billion would not be accepted.
Meanwhile, Türkiye expects to generate ₺185 billion in privatization revenue in 2026 under its Medium-Term Program.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
