Tekfen Construction, one of the largest construction companies in Turkey, has won tenders for projects worth some $5bn from the Azerbaijani government and state-owned companies over the years, Trend news agency reported on November 6 citing a company report.

Public tenders in Azerbaijan are not conducted transparently, therefore it is impossible to ascertain under what conditions bidders win tenders. Fuelled by oil and gas revenues, Azerbaijan experienced a construction boom that accentuated between 2007 and 2014. As a result, numerous domestic and foreign construction companies became almost exclusively clients of the state, which spent generously on infrastructure projects.

However, the drop in oil and gas prices that started in 2014 has pushed the Azerbaijani economy into recession and has affected the construction of all but the most important infrastructure projects.

Over the years, Tekfen Holding built the new headquarters of the Azerbaijani state-owned oil company Socar, under a $414.24mn contract that it completed in 2016; the Sangachal gas terminal that is part of the landmark gas project Southern Gas Corridor, under a $480mn contract; some $2.6bn worth of projects involving Turkey or in Turkey, including the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, the expansion of the Trans Anatolian Gas pipeline (TANAP), the construction of compressor and measuring stations for the same pipeline, and work on a petrochemical refinery on the Aegean Sea.

According to its 2016 financial report, Tekfen Holding's revenues amount to TRY4.73bn ($1.23bn), and it forecast revenues to the tune of TRY7.5bn in 2017.