In a post on his social media account, Deniz Yavuzyılmaz made a striking calculation regarding the toll fees for the potential privatization of the KGM Anatolian Motorway. Yavuzyılmaz stated that the current toll for the 379-kilometer Anatolian Motorway on the Istanbul-Ankara route is 338 TL.
According to the calculation included in Yavuzyılmaz's post, the toll per kilometer on the state-operated Anatolian Motorway is at the level of 0.89 TL. It was stated that for the Northern Marmara Motorway, which is on the same route and was built using the Build-Operate-Transfer model, the fee per kilometer is 4.96 TL.
UP TO 460 PERCENT HIKE
Arguing that the difference between these two fees is 4.6 times, Yavuzyılmaz suggested that if the Anatolian Motorway is privatized, the toll could gradually rise to 1,890 TL. Yavuzyılmaz stated that this would mean a hike of up to 460 percent.
Directing harsh criticism at the government in his post, Yavuzyılmaz described the plan in question as "tantamount to betrayal of the citizens" and used the phrase, "This is called a plan to fleece the citizens."
Yavuzyılmaz's claims have brought the privatization debates surrounding motorway operating models and toll fees back to the agenda. The calculation in question was based on the difference in fees between current rates and those on routes operated under the Build-Operate-Transfer model.
News Source: 12punto
