REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, ANKARA -- Ankara has eliminated US tech giant Apple from a public tender to domestically develop and produce tablets for schoolchildren, citing “failure to meet financial sufficiency criteria,” the Hürriyet daily has reported.

Apple has around $147 billion in cash.

The Hürriyet daily reported on Thursday that the Turkish government decided to eliminate the US giant from the tender -- also known as the Movement to Increase Opportunities and Technology (FATİH) -- which plans to launch local production of 10.6 million tablet computers for students.

Turkey launched a FATİH pilot program in certain provinces in February 2013, and the government has said it aims to provide millions of students with domestically produced tablets. General Mobile won the tender for the first phase of FATİH. Separate tenders followed, the latest of which was in June, when 11 companies bid for the project. Apple and a local tech firm were dropped from the tender last week. The remaining bidders include Samsung, Vestel and Microsoft.

Market experts estimate that 10.6 million tablets would require a total investment of $4 billion. The number of students to benefit from FATİH makes the project the largest program of its kind in the world. FATİH also plans to introduce interactive whiteboards into public schools, replacing traditional blackboards.

Todays Zaman reported, the remaining bidders are expected to continue providing the Turkish Public Procurement Authority (KİK) with details about their proposals for the project, after which the winning bidder will be announced. Authorities haven't set a date for the announcement.

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