Turkey: German loans also enjoyed by ruling AKP municipalities

The map obtained from the KfW’s website shows water and sanitation projects credited by the bank, which committed over 4.7 billion in 50 years to over 100 projects.Funds from Germany are used to support Turkish municipalities controlled by both the opposition and the ruling party, banking data has indicated.

The data contradicted the turkish prime minister’s recent accusations that Kurdish militants were receiving German money via opposition-led local councils.

KfW Entwicklungsbank, one of the main German supporters of the local projects in Turkey, has committed a total amount of 4.7 billion euros over 50 years in the form of low-interest loans and non-repayable grants to more than 100 projects, the bank said on its website. Among the recipients of those credits were Kayseri Municipality and Denizli Municipality, both of whose mayors are members of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP.

Erdoğan recently said some German foundations signed contracts with municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, and the Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, and that they made pre-deals for the companies that would take on the projects. Some of those companies had connections with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, he implied.

German Ambassador Eberhard Pohl rejected Erdoğan’s claims Tuesday, saying Turkey’s Treasury Department made the applications for projects and that they approved agreements for credits.

Although it is not a foundation, KfW fits in with the description Erdoğan made. The bank financed major projects in the southeastern provinces of Diyarbakır, Batman and Siirt, all of which have BDP mayors. The bank is preparing for projects in the western Antalya and İzmir, which have CHP mayors as well, according to a document available on its website.

Among the completed projects financially supported by the KfW were the new Galata Bridge in Istanbul, the light railway system in Bursa and the desulfurization unit at the Yatağan Coal Power Plant. Both Istanbul and Bursa are controlled by the AKP.

The KfW focuses its activities on improving municipal infrastructure such as water, sanitation, waste disposal and mass public transport, the document said.

According to the document, the German bank completed 18 projects in Turkey worth 700 million euros and has six ongoing projects in Turkey worth 150 million euros. Six other projects worth 150 million euros are in the planning stages.

October 5, 2011
SOURCE: Hürriyet Daily News