Akfen Group Interested in Air, Land and Sea Operation Sectors

Akfen’s Akın underscored that AK Party had succeeded in ensuring stability in Turkey and received its reward by winning half of the total votes in the elections. The Akfen group is eyeing highway and bridge privatizations in line with its slogan signaling that it operates in sectors involving air, land and sea, the chairman of Akfen Holding has said in an interview with Today’s Zaman.

Akfen Holding, part of the Tepe-Akfen-Souther-Sera joint venture that offered the highest bid, at $861 million, for the İstanbul Ferry Lines (İDO), acquiring it in the final negotiations of the long-planned privatization in early April, is currently the biggest group in privatization deals. Akfen Holding’s total payments for privatization in Turkey have surpassed $7 billion, including those of operations in the Port of Mersin and the İstanbul, Ankara, İzmir and Antalya airports.

“Our slogan was ‘Akfen in the air, on land and on the sea’ before the initial public offering [IPO] of our holding. We are Turkey’s biggest infrastructure platform. We will also be seen in the privatization of highways and bridges in Turkey and in the Ankara gas grid,” he said. The company also has a joint bid with Saudi Oger for the privatization of Saudi Arabia’s Medina Airport, competing with the Ladin family for the deal.

Commenting on claims that İDO fares will increase in the short term, Akın stated that this was not the case. “They have even declined, as we chose a dynamic pricing system [allowing for price changes due to different variables, conditions and situations]. There were also rumors that we would fire employees. There will be no such development,” he noted. Akın also added that they aim to make İDO bigger by adding new routes.

Moreover, Akın said he has presented an interesting project to İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş on making Büyükdere Avenue, where the financial district of İstanbul is located, into a square easily accessible by pedestrians. “There (showing the financial district from his headquarters) are the bankers and on this side of Büyükdere Avenue are famous shopping malls such as Kanyon, Metrocity and Sapphire. But people can’t cross from one side to the other; even with their cars it ‘s very difficult. I presented a project to the mayor to put the traffic underground and make a square for pedestrians, and he received it positively. He even offered me the job; however, the important thing is not whether I do it. Someone has to do it, and I am hopeful that we can expect positive developments regarding the project,” Akın added.

People rewarded AK Party

Moreover, the chairman of Akfen Holding was reminded of his previous statement that the Turkish business world will support any political group that ensures a stable environment in the country.

“The business world will support even the communist party if it would ensure stability in Turkey, and therefore the chambers of commerce across the country have supported the Justice and Development Party [AK Party],” he said, adding that the underlying reason for the support is not opportunism, but support for peace and welfare, which are outcomes of stability. Asked whether the AK Party had succeeded in ensuring stability in Turkey, Akın responded: “How could the AK Party win 50 percent of the vote in the June 12 elections if they did not bring stability to the country? This is a result of what they have done during their time in office. The people are not ungrateful, and they have rewarded the AK Party. I believe they would have received even more votes if the AK Party and the prime minister had not made some mistakes. However, there is no person or institution that doesn’t make mistakes.”

TUSKON model successful

“I see the Anatolian tigers or lions, whatever you say, as bicyclists who pass gas stations while, we as modern industrialists, are waiting to fill our tank. Their [Anatolian businessmen] total exports totaled $135 billion before the global financial crisis, and they are expected to see similar export figures by the end of this year. Business groups such as the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON) have proven that their model of supporting and guiding Anatolian exporters to increasing export figures is a success. If you do not support successful businessmen, then someone else will come and do it, like TUSKON did. This was the right thing to do,” Akın said.

He also stated that there is an enormous business potential in Anatolia that should be taken into account, noting that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) should be supported by bigger business organizations. “I measure the potential in Anatolia by looking at the capacity of different ports. In a period where the trade capacity of İstanbul’s harbors decreased by 30 percent, Mersin’s capacity fell only by 3 percent. This is a sign of how strong the Anatolian SMEs are. Turkey would be unable to achieve its current export figures without this group of businessmen,” Akın noted.

03 July 2011
SOURCE: TODAYS ZAMAN