The joint legislative work carried out by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure and the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization in order to implement Kanal Istanbul has been completed. Companies that have won the construction tender of the channel where the Build-Operate-Transfer model will be applied will be provided with tax exemption for all kinds of technical equipment to be used in construction; their income will be exempt from corporate tax. The forest quality of the forest areas within the border of Kanal Istanbul will be removed.
While the cost of the construction that will last 7 years is estimated to be 75 billion TL, it is thought that 10 billion TL of income will be generated in the first 182 years with the completion of the project. According to the study, the canal will be built on the route following Küçükçekmece Lake-Sazlıdere Dam-Terkos east. Its length will be 45 km, base width of 275 meters and depth of 20.75 meters.
While many experts opposed the project on the grounds that it would cause great damage due to its environmental and economic consequences, Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality filed a lawsuit to stop the project.
Yet Another 'Build-Operate-Transfer' Project
The method that AKP cadres praised as "we are serving without spending a penny from the budget" reminds us of capitulations. No money comes out of the budget during the investment, but after the end, the robbery begins.
It is also not correct to stick with the Treasury guarantee when calculating the extent of the robbery. It is necessary to add the fees paid by the users of the service to this account. In other words, the people have both tax and money out of pocket.
25 Million Liras Will Be Paid For 400 Years
Let's give an example from the Eurasia tunnel. The company spent $ 1 billion 245 million for its construction. One-way $ 4,5 + 8 percent VAT is paid per vehicle. If the dollar remained at 7 TL, those who passed after July will pay about 40 TL. Guaranteed 25 million 125 thousand vehicles annually. If less, it will be paid from the Treasury. 470 million lira was paid from the Treasury in three years. It is calculated that at least 400 million lira will be paid this year due to travel restrictions. And this will take 25 years…
3 Billion to 3rd Bridge Only
In the first half of last year, 1 billion 450 million lira was paid from the Treasury to the consortium that only worked for the Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge. It is stated that the amount to be paid for the second half of the year is calculated as 1 billion 650 million liras.
With this payment, the money paid to the company for 1 year from the citizen's pocket reached 3 billion 50 million lira. Due to the fact that the guarantee payments are calculated in terms of dollars, with the taxes of the citizens who have never used these bridges and roads, the government paid 2018 billion 2 million TL to the state contractors for the year 2018 at the dollar rate (1 $ = 3.76 TL) on January 3, 650.
8.3 Billion TL Reserved
According to the Presidential 2020 Annual Program, 8.3 billion lira was allocated for the guarantees given to companies in the Public Private Cooperation (PPP) projects of the Ministry of Transport. In addition to bridges, tunnels and highways, there are also numerous airport and train terminal payments. Istanbul Airport is excluded from this calculation.
During the Epidemic Period, Daily Use Has Decreased, The State Pays Again
While the daily use of the 3rd Bridge and the Eurasia Tunnel, built with the Build-Operate-Transfer model, will decrease during the epidemic days, the promised fees will continue to be paid by the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure to the companies.
The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure would pay 2019 billion for the third bridge in the second half of 1.6. According to this calculation, the ministry will give 3 million TL per day for the 8.8rd Bridge.
What Did Guaranteed Payments Lead?
For the Eurasia Tunnel, the ministry paid 2019 million TL in 177. Accordingly, the daily fee of the Eurasia Tunnel comes to 480 thousand TL.
On the weekend of the curfew, it is expected to pay 960 thousand TL to the Eurasia Tunnel and at least 3 million TL to the 17.6rd Bridge.
The process on the Osmangazi Bridge proceeded as follows: According to the contract, the construction period is 7 years and the operating period is 15 years and 4 months. Under the contract, transition guarantees vary according to the segments. According to the contract, an income guarantee of 15 billion dollars was given to the operator for 4 years and 10,4 months. The bridge was put into operation on 01/07/2016 and in 15 days until 03/2020/1.351, when the operation period of the main project will start; The operator collected revenue on 40.000 vehicles and fees updated according to inflation in the USA. The total of these revenues, some of which were met from the users and the majority from the budget, was 2 billion 148 million USD.