Galatasaray stadium hangs in the balance

However, the construction has been on hold for the past three months due to financing problems. According to a story published by Habertürk yesterday, the Mass Housing Administration, or TOKİ, may take the project "permanently" from Talu, if the problems are not solved.

The newspaper recalled how state-owned Halkbank refused to lend 115 million Turkish Liras for the project, claiming that if this amount is not covered from some other source in a few weeks, TOKİ will abolish the rights of Eren Talu and his Abu-Dhabi based partners over the project. In this case, another company will undertake the Seyrantepe construction and another project to be built in place of the Ali Sami Yen Stadium in the central district of Mecidiyeköy.

The Seyrantepe project came under the spotlight when construction workers protested over unpaid wages in March. Habertürk claimed that Erdoğan Bayraktar, chief of TOKİ, would send a letter of warning to Talu next week and wait for two weeks for the 115 million liras of credit to arrive. If Talu cannot manage to find the credit, his Seyrantepe contract will be canceled, Habertürk said.

Another claim of Habertürk was that Bayraktar visited Halkbank headquarters, requesting that the bank open the credit line. If the credit is not paid back, TOKİ is the guarantor, he is claimed to have said. Halkbank refused to give in, Habertürk wrote.

Meanwhile, Ali Ağaoğlu, president of the real estate giant Ağaoğlu Group, issued a statement on the Seyrantepe project, dismissing earlier claims by Habertürk as baseless. "Eren Talu requested an appointment to see me. I met him and his partners from Abu Dhabi twice at my office in Ataşehir," he said. "I deemed it a responsibility to be interested in the situation of an important stadium that has to be delivered for Galatasaray and Turkish sports in general. We wished to find a solution to the problem to prevent an erosion of trust in the Turkish economy. Also, we thought the project was convenient from a commercial perspective."

Habertürk had claimed that Ağaoğlu prevented the Halkbank credit due to his "weight" as a key customer of the bank. Dismissing the claim, Ağaoğlu said he had never worked with Halkbank.

To find financing, Talu first approached Crescent Heights, a U.S.-based firm. Last summer, he included Abu Dhabi Group and Al Zarooni partership into his consortium.Â