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Yavuzyılmaz slams BOT projects: 49.6 billion lira in guarantee payments made to companies in the first 6 months

CHP Zonguldak Deputy Deniz Yavuzyılmaz claimed that approximately 49.6 billion lira was paid to companies in the first six months of 2026 due to the failure to meet guaranteed vehicle passage numbers in highway projects implemented under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. Yavuzyılmaz described these payments as a "mega robbery."

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Making assessments based on the General Directorate of Highways' 2026 Fiscal Status and Expectations Report, Yavuzyılmaz argued in a statement on his social media account that guarantee payments create a heavy burden on the public budget.

Claim of a "black hole in the Treasury"

In his post, which included the report's table on budget realizations, Yavuzyılmaz alleged that a significant amount of resources were transferred from the Treasury to companies because vehicle passage guarantees were not met in highway projects operated under the Build-Operate-Transfer model.

Yavuzyılmaz used the following expressions in his statement:

"We have determined the current size of the black hole created in the Treasury due to unmet vehicle passage guarantees in highway projects carried out with the AKP's Build-Operate-Transfer model. In the first six months of 2026, the guarantee payment made to the contracted companies reached 49 billion 640 million 288 thousand 997 lira. This is called a mega robbery."

Guarantee payments are a subject of debate again

Vehicle passage guarantees provided in transportation projects carried out with the Build-Operate-Transfer model have frequently been a subject of debate between the opposition and the government in recent years. While the opposition argues that guarantee payments place a serious burden on the public budget, the government states that these projects make significant contributions to the country's transportation infrastructure in the long term and allow public investments to be implemented rapidly.