In a stunning move Feb. 6, the Turkish government transferred public assets worth billions of Turkish liras to a sovereign wealth fund that it hastily created last year. Structured through legislative decrees under the state of emergency declared after the coup attempt in July, the Turkey Wealth Fund (TVF) appears destined to continue to stir controversy.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) says the TVF is similar to sovereign wealth funds operated by oil-rich Gulf states, Norway and other countries with current account and budget surpluses. In reality, the only similarity is the name. Turkey, a country with a chronic current account deficit, has no budget surplus, but rather a budget deficit, which happens to be on the rise. Why Ankara sought such a fund is becoming clearer as it gradually takes shape.

Judging by what has emerged so far, the TVF is expected to assume some budgetary and Central Bank functions. As a primary goal, it will probably be used to provide lifelines or even life preservers to the AKP’s “megaprojects” — public-private partnerships (PPP) in giant infrastructure investments — by using the public liquid assets transferred to its disposal.

The Turkish economy is currently contracting. Last year’s overall growth rate is not yet known, but existing data suggest it barely exceeded 1.5%, a steep decline from 6.1% in 2015. The outlook for 2017 is similarly pessimistic. Turkey’s economy relies on external funds to grow, but the customary level of these capital inflows is no more. The world’s top three credit-rating agencies have cut Turkey to “non-investment” grade, with the Federal Reserve’s rate-hike policy also contributing to the exit of foreign funds.