Türkiye to continue low-rate policy, speed up urban transformation
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan speaks during a ceremony, in Istanbul, Türkiye, April 21, 2023. (AA Photo)


President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday that Türkiye had rebuilt 3.3 million houses under urban transformation projects and that these projects would gain even further speed, particularly in earthquake-risk regions.

Erdoğan emphasized that they both increased the quality of life of people with the steps they took in every field, from transportation to energy, and that they grew Türkiye with investment, employment and production.

He said that they have realized a rapid transformation with their infrastructure and residences in the country, which is facing many disaster risks from earthquakes to fires, from floods to landslides.

"So far, we have renewed 3.3 million houses with urban transformation and built 1.2 million houses... With the contributions of our private sector, we have brought our country to a very good level in this area compared to 20 years ago. But we do not see this as enough. Especially in Istanbul, we are accelerating urban transformation in places with high earthquake risk," he said.

Erdoğan revealed that half of the cost of those who wished to rebuild their houses would be covered by the state.

"We should not forget that the way to get rid of the troubles we experience in our daily lives is to grow our country, increase production and employment... Just as we removed all the obstacles in front of Türkiye one by one, we will have the inflation issue under control by the end of this year and we will have solved it completely next year."

Erdoğan also noted that the low-interest rate policy would not change. "And you will see that inflation will decrease along with the interest rate."