Turkey energy and strategic mineral infrastructure expropri

The Turkish government has issued several presidential decrees authorizing urgent expropriations to support various energy and strategic resource projects across multiple provinces.

Initial decrees focused on energy infrastructure, authorizing BOTAŞ to expropriate land for natural gas pipelines in provinces including Ordu, Tokat, and Erzincan. Additionally, TEDAŞ and TEİAŞ were granted authority to seize land for electricity transmission lines and transformer centers in regions such as Konya and Niğde, while the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) targeted properties in Antalya for natural gas distribution.

Subsequent actions expanded to strategic mineral extraction. In Eskişehir, the government ordered the urgent expropriation of 258 properties in the Beylikova and Sivrihisar districts to facilitate a project by Eti Maden İşletmeleri. This project aims to exploit thorium, barite, fluorite, and rare earth elements through open-pit mining and industrial processing. The infrastructure for this project includes waste dams and logistics networks for ore transport. This move has faced criticism from political organizations, such as the YENİ Party and the SOL Party, regarding transparency, compensation, and potential environmental and agricultural impacts.

Recent decrees published in the Official Gazette have further expanded these powers. TEİAŞ has been authorized for several transmission line and transformer station projects, including the Yeşilhisar, Altınkaya-Sinop, and Çekerek Basin-Turhal lines, as well as the Nizip Organized Industrial Zone project. Simultaneously, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has been granted authority for urgent expropriations related to the Trakya Petroleum and Natural Gas Search and Production Project, covering land for exploration, production, storage, and pipelines.