Turkey is to revive plans to privatise two bridges across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul and some motorways and aims to start the process by the first quarter of 2015, banking and government sources said on Monday.

A consortium of Turkey's Koc Holding, Malaysia's UEM Group Berhad and Gozde Private Equity won a first tender for the privatisation of roads and bridges with the highest bid of $5.72 billion in December 2012. But the tender was cancelled in February 2013 after then-prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said it had not met price expectations.

The Turkish privatisation administration (OIB) has sent letters of invitation to potential advisors and is expected to make a decision by the end of this month, the sources said.

"The method of privatisation will be determined with the advisor," one of the banking sources told Reuters.

"After the cancellation of the first tender, an initial public offering was the leading option, but a transfer of operating rights or regrouping and selling of roads and bridges depending on their revenue are also among the options."

The roads and bridges, including the Edirne-Istanbul-Ankara motorway and the Bosphorus and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges linking Europe and Asia, were to be privatised in a single package for a period of 25 years in the first tender.

"A decision is expected from the high council of the privatisation administration. After that, the privatisation is expected in the first quarter (of 2015)," a second source said. – Reuters