Competition Board decision on Fenerbahçe-Kalamış Marina

The Competition Board has concluded several applications for acquisitions and joint ventures.

According to the announcement on the Competition Authority's website, it has been decided to approve the privatization of the Fenerbahçe-Kalamış Marina, located in the Kalamış-Fener Street area of Istanbul's Kadıköy district and owned by the Treasury, through the granting of operating rights.

Vahit Karaarslan had submitted the highest bid of 505 million dollars in the tender held in July.

UNDER PRIVATIZATION SINCE 2011

The Fenerbahçe-Kalamış Marina, which has been under the scope of privatization since 2011, was built by the Kadıköy Municipality in 1985 on an area of 103 thousand square meters. Opened in 1988, the marina was operated by a private company.

In 1992, the General Directorate of National Property revoked the allocation it had granted to the Kadıköy Municipality in 1985. The marina was included in the scope of privatization in 2011. Zoning plan changes, which became the subject of lawsuits, paved the way for the expansion of the marina and the construction of a hotel and new commercial areas.

Some of the lawsuits filed against the zoning plans, which include 40-50 thousand square meters of new construction area in the marina, are still ongoing. Most recently, a 3 thousand 100 square meter area allocated to the Kalamış Sailing Club within the marina was also included in the scope of privatization.

With a total mooring capacity of 1,511 yachts, including 1,291 at sea and 220 on land, the Fenerbahçe-Kalamış Marina is Turkey's second-largest and Istanbul's largest marina, representing 23.8 percent of the total capacity in Istanbul and 6 percent of Turkey's total.

KADIKÖY MUNICIPALITY HAD APPLIED

Former Kadıköy Mayor Şerdil Dara Odabaşı had announced that they, as the Kadıköy Municipality, were interested in these areas so that no one else would "seize" them.

The Kadıköy Municipality, which did not receive a result from its application to the Privatization Administration to have the operation of the marina granted to them as a public institution, decided to enter the tender; however, it was later learned that the municipality had been excluded from the tender.

The Fenerbahçe-Kalamış Solidarity group and the CHP Kadıköy District Presidency had also demanded the cancellation of the privatization decision.

Residents of Kadıköy organized various protests, stating, "Kalamış belongs to the people, it cannot be sold."

FIRST APPROVAL THEN CANCELLATION FOR KOÇ

The Privatization Administration had approved the transfer of the 40-year operating rights of the Fenerbahçe-Kalamış Marina to Tek-Art Kalamış ve Fenerbahçe Marmara Turizm Tesisleri A.Ş. (Tek-Art), a subsidiary of Koç Holding, for 2.53 billion liras on November 12, 2021, and President Tayyip Erdoğan had approved the decision; however, this approval was later canceled by a Presidential decree dated January 19, 2022.

In 2013, Erdoğan had also canceled the bridge and highway tender, which was Turkey's second-largest privatization at 5.7 billion dollars.

The tender, won by a consortium consisting of Koç, Ülker, and the Malaysian UEM Group, envisaged the privatization of the operating rights for 8 highways, 2 bridges, connecting roads, and service facilities, maintenance and operation facilities, toll collection centers, and other assets including goods and service production units as a single package for a period of 25 years from the date of actual delivery.