More than half of people in Turkey oppose the privatization of public assets such as bridges and highways and believe previous privatizations benefited certain groups rather than the public, the results of a new survey have shown.
The poll, conducted by BUPAR, a research firm based in the western province of Bursa, on 1,000 respondents, found that 51.9 percent oppose the privatization of publicly owned institutions and enterprises, while 33.4 percent support it. About 14.9 percent said they were undecided.
When asked whether privatizations carried out in Turkey had served the public interest or specific groups, 57.3 percent said they believed they had benefited certain groups, compared with 22.7 percent who said they served the public. Twenty percent of respondents said they had no opinion.
The findings come as the Turkish government is reported to be preparing a 25-year transfer of operating rights for two of İstanbul’s Bosporus bridges — the 15 July Martyrs Bridge and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge — along with seven state-owned highways.
Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has criticized the reported plan.
Deniz Yavuzyılmaz, a deputy chair of the CHP, said last week that the bridges and highways generated a net public profit of $600 million in 2025, citing the General Directorate of Highways’ (KGM) performance program. Projected over 25 years, he said, that would amount to roughly $15 billion in revenue for the state.
Yavuzyılmaz claimed that under privatization the assets would be transferred below their long-term revenue potential and that private operators would increase tolls, generating an additional $33 billion in profit. He claimed that at least $48 billion would ultimately be transferred “from citizens’ pockets” to private companies over a 25-year period.
The criticism followed a Bloomberg report that Turkey had hired the London-based consultancy EY to advise on the planned sale of operating rights for the two bridges and a wider toll road network. The Canada-based BTY Group was reportedly appointed as technical adviser.
The BUPAR survey also measured public awareness of payment guarantees under public-private partnership (PPP) projects.
In projects such as the Osmangazi Bridge, a major suspension bridge in northwestern Turkey that spans the Gulf of İzmit, part of the Sea of Marmara, the government guarantees a minimum level of traffic and pays companies the difference if the target is not met.
While 33.2 percent of respondents said they were aware that the Treasury covers such shortfalls, 21.5 percent said they had heard of the practice but did not know the details.
Some 45.3 percent said they were unaware of it. After being informed about the guarantee payments, 60.3 percent said their view of PPP projects had become more negative, while 30 percent said their opinion did not change.
Onur Alp Yılmaz, BUPAR’s research director, told the BirGün daily that although many people are uneasy about privatization and PPP projects, the issue has not become a main focus of political competition in Turkey.
Yılmaz said that since the 1980s privatization has been presented as an economic necessity rather than a political choice, adding that with no strong alternative economic vision and politics focused mainly on identity and security issues, economic policy has not become a key election issue.
As a result, he said, public dissatisfaction has not turned into sustained political action and debates focus on management rather than deeper systemic change.
Privatization has been one of the defining economic policies of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s rule. Official data show that revenue from asset sales under the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has increased sharply compared with the pre-2002 period.
Figures from the Privatization Administration show that total privatization income amounted to just over 3 billion Turkish lira ($70 million) between 1986, when privatization was first implemented in Turkey, and 2002, while revenue between 2003 and 2025 reached 192.6 billion lira ($4.4 billion).
The pace of sales has accelerated in recent years. In 2025 alone privatization revenue reached 61.54 billion lira ($1.4 billion), the highest annual figure recorded under AKP rule.
The privatization drive under AKP governments has included the sale or partial sale of some of Turkey’s most prominent state-owned enterprises across key sectors such as energy, heavy industry, telecommunications, finance and transportation.
Major assets privatized over the past two decades include TÜPRAŞ, PETKİM, Türk Telekom, TEKEL’s alcoholic beverages division, SEKA paper mills, Sümer Holding, OYAKBANK, parts of Turkish Airlines, Sabiha Gökçen Airport and major ports such as İskenderun and Antalya in southern Turkey.
Supporters say privatization reduces the state’s role in the economy and generates revenue, particularly during periods of fiscal pressure. Critics argue that strategic public assets have been sold rapidly and, in some cases, below their long-term value.