News

The tender for the Antalya-Alanya highway project, the construction of which will be supervised by the General Directorate of Roads (KGM) of the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (UDH), has been finalized. The tender, worth 76.7 billion liras, went to Limak Construction. Limak Construction Group is the 181st largest construction company in the world according to Engineering News Record's ranking. According to the same magazine's 2022 ranking, it is the 67th largest construction company in the world.

Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Ka ır announced that Turkey's first astronaut, Alper Gezeravcı, will go into space on January 17, 2024. Gezeravcı will take part in the flight together with Spanish, Italian and Swedish astronauts and will stay on the International Space Station for 14 days. Minister Fatih Ka ır said that as part of the ISS stay program, Gezeravcı will conduct 13 different scientific experiments in fields such as biology, medicine, material science and genetics. One of the experiments was prepared by students of the Muş Science and Art Center.

The Professional Football Disciplinary Commission (PFDK) of the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) announced the punishment imposed on Ankarag c Club and club president Faruk Ko e. The soccer club has been fined 2 million liras. In addition, the next 5 matches of the club will be held without spectators. The club president Faruk Koja is disqualified for life.

Whoever takes a bundle of tickets will get....400 million liras! That's if you're lucky, of course. Let mathematicians calculate the probability of winning in lotteries, but we will talk about the traditional New Year lottery in Turkey - Milli Piyango. The national lottery in Turkey appeared in 1889. In 1939, Milli Piyango, a company controlled by the Prime Minister of Turkey, became the official ticket dealer. In fact, the Milli Piyango lotteries are held all year round, but it is before New Year's Eve that every Turk feels obliged to buy a cherished ticket, so that on New Year's Eve, sitting in front of the TV screen, to watch the announcement of the results with excitement.

International real estate company Cushman Wakefield has published the report "World's Main Streets 2023", dedicated to rental rates for real estate in prime areas around the world. The report includes many street names from New York to Vietnam, Argentina to Milan. Istanbul's famous street ranked first on the Worldwide Main Streets Report's list for rental growth rates. Compared to last year, Istiklal Street rose from 31st to 20th place in the ranking, showing an annual rent growth rate of 127%, outpacing the rent growth rates of other major shopping streets in the world.

According to the Ministry of Tourism of Northern Cyprus, more than 44 thousand Russian citizens visited the island in the last 11 months of 2023, which is 33% more than in 2022. The Russians are followed by Iranians with 35.7 thousand people, Germans with 25.6 thousand people, British with 21.2 thousand people, Kazakhs with 14.4 thousand people and Ukrainians with 8.3 thousand people. The total number of foreigners coming to Northern Cyprus in 2023 amounted to 1.5 million.

According to a decision published in the Official Gazette of Turkey, the euro exchange rate in the pricing of medicines has been updated. The calculated euro exchange rate applied in pricing of medicines has been increased by 25% from 14 liras to 17.55 liras. Accordingly, the prices of all medicines will be increased by 25%.The decision will enter into force from December 25, 2023.

Russians again became leaders among foreign investors in the real estate market in Turkey. According to the report of the Turkish National Institute of Statistics, Russian citizens purchased 637 apartments in November 2023. They are followed by citizens of Iran (234 objects), citizens of Ukraine (128) and Kazakhstan (117).

The General Directorate of Land Registry and Registration (TKGM) has changed the regulations for determining the expert valuation of real estate. Now, it is necessary to indicate the value of the object in the act of expert evaluation of housing under construction, corresponding to the actual work performed at the time of drawing up the act. Previously, it was possible to specify the value of the object in advance, assuming how much the object will cost at the time of completion of construction. Thus, in order to indicate the maximum possible amount in the act of expert evaluation, you will have to wait until the end of construction of the house.

Real estate investment expert Mustafa Hakan Ozelmacıklı named the time when housing sales, which have recently declined, will begin to grow again. He cited rising global inflation and rising interest rates as reasons for the decline in sales. Mustafa Hakan Ozelmacıklı said home sales will rise again in the second quarter of 2024 due to the expectation of lower inflation and lower interest rates on deposits.

Turkish Airlines, Turkey's flagship carrier, recently announced a partnership with Hollywood actress Margot Robbie. The famous actress will become the face of the airline, promoting a new route to Australia. Ahmet Bolat, chairman of Turkish Airlines, officially announced the partnership.

An ordinance has been published regarding changes in the citizenship application procedure. From January 1, 2024, the personal presence of the applicant and his/her spouse will be required when applying for citizenship. Previously, personal presence was only required when taking fingerprints to apply for an investor's residence permit. From January 1, the investor and his/her spouse will also have to be present in person when applying for citizenship, where fingerprints will be taken again and biometric photos will be taken.