The chairman of Turkey's Privatization Agency, or OIB, said Monday that the companies to have prequalified to bid in the country's delayed privatization tender for the right to operate a series of electricity distribution grids are still entitled to participate in the process, the Ihlas News Agency, or IHA, reported.
"The tenders were not canceled, they were delayed, so the pre-qualifications are still valid," Chairman Metin Kilci told local business television channel CNBC-e.
The government of Turkey's ruling AK Party had planned to start the sale of three electricity grid companies last year but investors demanded a rise in electricity prices first, and the tender process was postponed until after parliamentary elections in July.
The government had prequalified 82 domestic and international companies to bid in the privatization processes for the three state-run grid companies, covering Ankara, Sakarya and the Asian part of Istanbul.
Among the interested companies were Germany's E.ON AG (EON), U.S.-based AES Corp. (AES), Spain's Iberdrola SA (IBE.MC), Austria's Verbund AG (VER.VI) and Turkish firms Sabanci Holding (SAHOL.IS), Koc Holding (KCHOL.IS), Dogan Holding (DOHOL2.IS), Dogus Holding and Anadolu Endustri Holding.
The government plans to start the sale of the grid companies this year.
Kilci also said OIB is considering privatizing a series of highways and bridges in Turkey together as a package in the first half of next year.
Turkey plans to sell operating rights to a series of highways and bridges but the government hasn't previously said whether the assets - which include Istanbul's landmark Bosporus bridges and eight highways - would be packaged together or sold separately.
Kilci added that the operating rights would be for a period of not less than 20 years.
Meanwhile, Kilci also said he expects the transfer of petrochemicals producer Petkim (PETKM.IS) to a consortium consisting of Azeri energy company Socar, Turkish energy firm Turcas (TRCAS.IS) and Saudi-based Injaz Projects by the end of February.
The government has agreed to sell a 51% controlling stake in Petkim to the consortium for $2.04 billion.