Turkey's electricity sector allocated around $23 billion for electricity distribution and privatization over the last 10 years, according to Serhat Cecen, the head of Turkey's Electricity Distribution Services Association (ELDER) on Thursday.
In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency, Cecen said that $13 billion was used for distribution and retail while $10 billion was allocated for the privatization of production facilities.
He explained that loans covered 80 percent of the total amount for privatization while equities met the remaining 20 percent.
'All of this amount was used in U.S. dollar-based loans from Turkish banks,' he but asserted that despite the current strong dollar rate, the loans would be managed in close cooperation with the loan-issuing banks.
Cecen said that over the coming years electricity production from domestic and renewable resources would increase and that plans are afoot to develop the country's electricity infrastructure to increase service quality and customer satisfaction.
- $100 billion investment in 10 years
The private sector invested $95 billion in the Turkish electricity sector in the last few years, Cecen said, adding that '$77 billion was used for production facilities and the rest was used for the distribution network.'
He added that the state contributed $5 billion for distribution towards a total investment of $100 billion.
'These investment figures are the biggest in Turkey's history,' he stressed.
He also shared ELDER's aim to digitally transform the energy sector.
'With these steps [via digitization], with every passing year, Turkey will become a self-sustained country in energy,' he said, and added that Turkey can eventually export energy produced from renewable sources.
By Murat Temizer
Anadolu Agency
energy@aa.com.tr