ANKARA, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Turkey's sovereign wealth fund will be used to finance major projects such as defense and aerospace investments and big infrastructure plans such as highways and hospitals, Deputy Prime Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Tuesday.

"These projects pay off in medium to long term and generate resources," Canikli said on Twitter.

Turkey has transferred government stakes worth billions of dollars in Turkish Airlines, major banks and fixed-line operator Turk Telekom to a sovereign wealth fund set up last year to help finance big-ticket infrastructure projects.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu and Ece Toksabay; Editing by Humeyra Pamuk) ((Tuvan.Gumrukcu@tr.com; +903122927021; Reuters Messaging: tuvan.gumrukcu.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))