A tender to sell a major Istanbul bus terminal property owned by the Istanbul Electricity, Tunnel and Trolley Authority (IETT) drew 18 competing companies, according to reports in Hurriyet and Sabah in March 2007.
The auction was scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Istanbul Municipality's Youth and Sports Directorate in the Sarachane district. Among the firms that purchased tender documents were Zorlu Gayrimenkul, Emaar Gayrimenkul, Garanti GYO, Akfen GYO, Limak Insaat, and Sama Dubai, along with 12 other companies.
The site covers 46,241 square meters and carries a tourism and trade designation. Its estimated floor price was set at 265 million new Turkish liras plus VAT (roughly 184 million USD at prevailing rates). Authorities expected the final sale to generate approximately 1 billion USD, with proceeds directed toward easing traffic congestion in the city.
The winning bidder may build to any height, though total construction space is capped at 238,000 square meters, with 138,000 above ground and 100,000 below (three floors), excluding parking. Only the three highest initial bidders would advance to a public auction round. The tender commission retained the right to cancel or postpone the process if offers fell short of expectations.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this wire report, first published in March 2007, in its own words.