Sama Dubai wins precious Istanbul land sale tender at YTL 980 mln

Sama Dubai, a unit of Dubai Holding of United Arab Emirates, on Wednesday made the highest bid of YTL 980 million ($705 million) in a televised tender for a prime area of real estate in Istanbul’s booming business district. Sama Dubai has offered 705 million USD plus 18 percent value added tax and won the public auction for the Istanbul Electricity, Tunnel & Trolley Authority's (IETT) bus terminal plot of 46,241 square meters in Levent district of Istanbul. Zorlu Gayrimenkul and Sama Dubai were the last two companies in the auction after withdrawal of Fiba-Nurol Gayrimenkul.

Sama Dubai made the highest offer with 705 million USD plus 18 percent VAT (832 million USD in total) and became the new owner of the plot.

Accordingly Sama Dubai, Zorlu Gayrimenkul and Fiba-Nurol Gayrimenkul joined the public auction as top three bidders. The minimum allowed price of the plot by the tender commission was YTL 265 million plus the VAT. The 46,241 square-meter terminal plot has a tourism and trade licence. The new owner company can construct a building as high as it wants, but the total construction area could not exceed 238,000 square meters. 138,000 square meters of it will be above and 100,000 will be under the ground (three floors), excluding the parking area. This land had been offered as a capital promise worth $100 million by the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality in a joint venture with Sama Dubai in 2005, and public opposition prevented the deal from reaching a conclusion.