ANKARA — Türkiye is approaching the final phase of its vast reconstruction program launched after the devastating February 2023 earthquakes that struck 11 provinces and claimed over 53,000 lives.
At an international press conference on Tuesday, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum announced that around 70% of the rebuilding work across the affected region has been completed.
“We are conducting one of the fastest and most coordinated reconstruction efforts in the world,” Kurum said, emphasizing the scale and speed of the recovery process.
According to the minister, Türkiye has invested approximately $75 billion in reconstruction activities, employing nearly 200,000 workers on about 3,500 construction sites.
“Every hour, 23 new homes are completed and handed over to families — totaling 550 homes per day,” he added. Kurum noted that the government plans to deliver its 350,000th new residence by November 15, with the full target of 453,000 homes to be finished by year’s end.
Two-thirds of the affected families have already returned to their new homes, marking a significant milestone in the country’s largest-ever rebuilding initiative.
Kurum also said that the experience gained from this recovery process will shape future urban development plans, including the upcoming Century Housing Project, which aims to build 500,000 new residences across all 81 provinces.
“The success we achieved in the post-quake reconstruction will inspire the next phase of our national housing vision,” he said.
The minister expressed gratitude to all countries and international organizations that supported Türkiye during and after the disaster, adding that Türkiye is prepared to share its expertise in rapid reconstruction with other nations facing similar challenges.
The twin earthquakes of February 6, 2023, measuring 7.7 and 7.6, struck the provinces of Adana, Adıyaman, Diyarbakır, Elazığ, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Şanlıurfa, affecting more than 14 million people in Türkiye and parts of northern Syria.
