Çelikler Taahhüt İnşaat ve Sanayi AŞ made the highest bid with 2 billion 248 million dollars and has thus been awarded the contract for the acquisition of Seyitömer Thermal Power Plant formerly owned by Elektrik Üretim AŞ (EÜAŞ), including the right to use the power plant’s licenses until 2054. The auction held for Seyitömer Thermal Power Plant, known as the most profitable thermal power plant, witnessed a contentious bargain that lasted for 47 rounds. Bidding started at 15.00 Final bargaining negotiations in the tender started at 15.00 in Ankara. This last tender of 2021 was held with the participation of 16 companies, with the bid committee chaired by Privatization Administration Deputy Chairman Ahmet Aksu. In the first round of the tender without elimination, the bid was already as high as 1 billion 200 million dollars. Fierce Competition A fierce competition began between Eti Bakır and Çelikler. The price went up to 2 billion 248 million dollars. Eti Bakır took a break and then withdrew. Thus, Çelikler İnşaat was the one to make the highest bid in the tender. Precious Mineral Reserves In his evaluations about the tender, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Çelikler İnşaat, Tahir Çelik, stated that they did not find the figures too high. Stating that they followed the energy field specifically, Çelik noted that the result was as they had hoped. Emphasizing that they did not see Seyitömer as just a thermal power plant, Çelik said, “There is a considerable mineral reserve here. We don't see it just as a thermal power plant but a precious mineral reserve. We think the sum is normal. We have initiated preparations for funding. We plan to use a certain amount of equity and a certain amount of credit.” Çelik noted that they would plan the payment method later. The installed power of Seyitömer Thermal Power Plant, built in 1973, is 600MW. Seyitömer Thermal Power Plant is acknowledged as the most profitable among EÜAŞ power plants in terms of area and location. Once privatized, Seyitömer Thermal Power Plant and the immovables used by it will become property of Çelikler, and the operating rights of the mining areas under the plant’s licenses will be leased until 2054. The average annual gross electricity production of the power plant consisting of 4 units for the last 5 years is 3.7 billion kWh. Last year, the electricity produced by the power plant using lignite accounted for 1.7 percent of Turkey's electricity alone. A renovation investment of approx. 400M dollars is required for Seyitömer Thermal Power Plant.
