AKP Antalya Provincial Chair Çetin Has Been Using School Land as Warehouse Since 2016

AKP Antalya Provincial Chair Ali Çetin has been using a 5,100-square-metre plot of land in the Kızıltoprak neighbourhood of Muratpaşa district — owned by the Regional Directorate of Foundations and designated as a 'primary school area' in the zoning plan — as a warehouse in the name of his company, Arel Beton Restorasyon Yapı Malzemeleri İnşaat İzolasyon Boya Sanayi ve Ticaret Ltd. Şti. The land has been sitting amid marble debris and rubbish since 2016. The matter was reported by Cumhuriyet Gazetesi.

Çetin is understood to have leased the plot through a tender process in 2016. The monthly rent remained at 1,520 lira between 2016 and 2019; it was set at 1,881 lira in 2019, 2,198 lira in 2020, 2,574 lira in 2022, 6,000 lira in 2023, 13,500 lira in 2024, 21,399 lira in 2025, and 32,000 lira in 2026. The average monthly rent for a 100-square-metre apartment in the area is understood to start at 30,000 lira; the rent being paid for the 5,100-square-metre public plot is considered to be well below its market value.

It has also been alleged that multiple unlicensed structures exist on the land. The commercial use of a plot designated for education in an area with high population density and high demand for schools has sparked a public interest debate. It was noted that neither the Ministry of National Education nor the Muratpaşa Municipality has intervened in the matter for years, despite the land remaining on record as a school area.