Turkish and Qatari agencies signed a deal Thursday to build a residential village with a 1,000-house capacity in northern Syria.
The agreement to build the village in the al-Bab region for displaced Syrians was reached by the Qatari Red Crescent and Turkey's Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) in the Qatari capital of Doha.
The heads of the agencies inked the deal that is worth $3.5 million (TL 62.70 million).
The village will have units of 50 square meters (164 square feet) each in size.
The area where houses are being built will have a mosque, school, health care center and shops.
Yunus Sezer, the head of the Turkish agency, told Anadolu Agency (AA) that the aim is to improve the living conditions for displaced Syrians currently living in tents.
He noted the "great cooperation" between Turkey and Qatar as part of the humanitarian effort in Syria and said Doha also is playing a critical role in helping Syrian refugees.
Turkey’s humanitarian organizations have been continuing their efforts of sending aid to Syrians in need since the start of the war over a decade ago.
The aid programs include the regions of Idlib as well as the Operation Euphrates Shield, Operation Olive Branch and Operation Peace Spring areas.
Ankara spearheaded humanitarian aid efforts for Syrians in opposition-controlled parts of northern Syria and Turkey while making large investments for Syrians in Turkey in social cohesion policies to help Syrians integrate into society smoothly.
Since launching several operations in northern Syria to fight terrorism, Turkey also rolled up its sleeves to reconstruct hospitals, schools, mosques and roads destroyed by the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terrorist organization, the YPG.
Within the scope of ameliorating the region's social infrastructure, several nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) gave people food and clothing while roads and buildings were rebuilt. These efforts paid off as hundreds of displaced Syrians started to return to the liberated areas.
Turkey has been pushing ahead with its efforts to establish a safe environment and housing for Syrians in the country's north and around 500,000 Syrians returned to their country. The briquette houses offer a warm shelter in contrast to the harsh living conditions in tents, which often get flooded during heavy rains or cause poisoning when Syrians try to light a fire amid harsh winter conditions.
Turkey has also initiated a project of building briquette houses. In Idlib and Azaz, nearly 3,000 houses have been completed so far and delivered to their new owners. Furthermore, the construction of new briquette homes has also started.
