President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Saturday that Istanbul will complete its urban transformation within five years, with the aim of clearing all earthquake-risky structures. Erdoğan made the announcement at a ceremony for newly-built village houses in Gaziantep's Belpınar and Mesthüyük villages, as well as Türkoğlu Özbek village of Kahramanmaraş, which were devastated by earthquakes in February.
Erdoğan offered his condolences to the families of the more than 50,000 citizens who lost their lives in the earthquakes, and wished patience to their relatives. He stated that after the earthquake disaster, the government had immediately started construction on safe buildings, laying the foundations on the 15th day after the earthquake.
The president announced that the government is building a total of 650,000 new homes in the earthquake zone, including 507,000 houses and 143,000 village houses. He added that they plan to deliver 319,000 of these homes within a year. So far, over 105,000 houses have been constructed, and the foundations for almost half of them have been laid.
Erdoğan emphasized that the government is not only building houses but also creating brand new living spaces with schools, health centers, markets, green areas, and parks. He further stated that the government has renewed the infrastructure of not only the places destroyed in the earthquake but also all the cities in the region, with the establishment of small industrial estates to boost employment as well as housing.
Erdoğan also revealed plans for Istanbul's urban transformation campaign. "We presented an offer to our brothers from Istanbul living in risky buildings, half of the cost of the conversion will be covered by us as the state, and the half of it will be very affordable, conditional borrowing," he said. The government aims to transform 300,000 residences per year, with a study to be carried out on-site and in reserve areas, to eliminate any risky buildings in Istanbul in five years.
Erdoğan reminded the audience that the government had brought citizens together with their new homes in a short time in previous disasters like earthquakes, floods, and fires, in cities such as Van, Bingöl, Antalya, Manavgat, Muğla, Kütahya, and Simav.
