BY KERIM ULKER
Turkey is facing the second major international lawsuit of the year after the Canadian mining giant Alamos Gold filed a USD 1bn lawsuit against Turkey at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) under the World Bank in April. Italian Enel, one of the world’s largest energy companies, went to arbitration against Turkey. Enel, which applied to ISCID on December 10, filed the case for cancellations in renewable energy projects. The defendants are the General Directorate of Law and Legislation of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, and the Presidency Investment Office in the lawsuit filed by the Italian giant against Turkey.
Enel entered the Turkish market with an agreement signed with Delta Investment Holding consist of establishing a 300 MW hydroelectric power plant in five years in 2009. The company then announced its new plan in 2013 to invest EUR 6.1bn between 2013 and 2017 mostly in developing economies. Enel Green Power (ENP) CEO Francesco Starace allocated EUR 4.2bn of his investment portfolio to six countries, including Turkey, Brazil, South Africa, Morocco, Peru and Mexico.
Founded in 1962, Enel is the 73rd largest company in the world with a revenue of EUR 65bn. The share value of the company, whose shares are traded on the Milan Stock Exchange, is EUR 82bn, according to 2020 data. Enel is the world’s second largest electricity company in terms of revenue, after China State Grid Corporation. The company has 66,000 employees and EUR 163bn worth assets.
