Turkey's Tourism Ministry allows minister to expand his hotel project into forest in Bodrum

Photo: Ronald Woan/Flickr

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism has granted permission to a company owned by the minister to include 25,000 square meters of forest area in a resort project in the popular holiday resort of Bodrum in southwestern Turkey, daily BirGün reported.

In late 2020, the company of Minister Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, Ersoy Hotels, bought the ISR Tourism from an Azerbaijan-based holding, which owned the Bodrum Hilton Türkbükü Hotel.

After the purchase, the company decided to demolish the hotel and build a five-star holiday camp.

The company, of which Ersoy is the main shareholder and executive, applied to the Ministry of Tourism and Culture demanding the allocation of a 25-acre land for the project. The ministry granted the permission on September 24.

Citing the information in the project introduction documents, BirGün reported that the environmental impact assessment process had been started for the project, which is estimated to cost 3.67 billion lira (~239 million US dollars).

The project is expected to be completed this year, according to the company's online ads. (VK)