The government is to include two recommendations by the constitutional court in drafting a new bill for the privatisation of Turk Telecom. The court has proposed:

Definition to the extent of the Transport & Communications Minister's powers and

that any foreign ownership should carry a guarantee of reciprocal access.

The government needs to take the court's objections into consideration in order to advance the privatisation again, and permit the OIB to award a consultancy contract. Prospective foreign bidders, mainly merchant banks, have already lined up for the sell-off (MEED 13:1:95; 16:12:94).

Turk Telecom was formed from the telecommunications division of the giant posts, telegraphs and telephones (PTT) administration. Its sale, planned for 1996, could contribute much of the targeted $20,000 million in privatisation receipts for the year.