Securing additional funding of 250 million euros ($270.6 million), Türkiye has obtained $3.8 billion from international organizations so far to heal the wounds of the region affected by last year's devastating earthquakes that struck the country's southeast, according to a top official Wednesday.
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek announced that the latest funding was provided by the Council of Europe Development Bank as part of the reconstruction efforts.
Emphasizing that efforts are continuing to provide foreign financing with favorable conditions from international organizations for the reconstruction of the region after the Kahramanmaraş-centered earthquakes, Şimşek said, "In this context, Türkiye received an additional 250 million euros from the Council of Europe Development Bank for health infrastructure expenditures in the earthquake region."
The earthquakes caused massive damage, killed over 53,000 people, and rendered thousands of buildings either collapsed or uninhabitable. Turkish authorities previously estimated the economic toll of the earthquakes at $104 billion.
Drawing attention to the importance of the resources for the earthquake region, Şimşek noted that financing aims to contribute to the improvement and reconstruction needs arising in the settlements affected by the earthquake, as well as to the strengthening of the health system.
The minister noted that Türkiye has obtained a significant amount of resources from international organizations to heal the wounds caused by the earthquake, recalling a recent agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
"Not long ago, we signed a loan agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency to provide 60 billion yen ($371.5 million) in financing for use within the 'Türkiye Post-Earthquake Reconstruction Framework Project.' This financing will be used to support the infrastructure works of Iller Bank in the earthquake region, the construction of rural housing in the earthquake region by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change and the health infrastructure works by the Ministry of Health," he explained.
Recalling that the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) announced a 1.5 billion euro financing package for the earthquake region, Şimşek stated that they also secured external financing for this purpose from the World Bank, European Investment Bank, Islamic Development Bank and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.
He reported that $3.8 billion has been procured to date to mitigate the problems in the earthquake-impacted areas and enhance the quality of life for residents. He said that "these resources provided are an indicator of both confidence in Türkiye's potential and rational policies in accordance with international norms."