In the year and a half since Turkey was hit by two major earthquakes, authorities have built and handed over 76,000 new homes to their owners, just a quarter of the number promised by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the full year, the Ihras News Agency (İHA) reported on Friday.
The magnitude 7.8 and 7.5 earthquakes that struck 11 provinces in southern and southeastern Turkey on February 6, 2023 killed more than 53,000 people, injured or displaced hundreds of thousands, and caused extensive damage.
In April 2023, President Erdogan announced that the government would build 650,000 new homes for earthquake victims over the course of one year, with 319,000 of them scheduled to be completed and handed over to their owners by the end of that period.
Many were skeptical of Erdogan’s remarks and considered his promises unrealistic as it would take months just to clear the rubble from the buildings, and Turkey’s economic situation and human resources are insufficient to complete such a project in a year.
A total of 76,000 homes have been built and handed over to owners in 11 provinces, Turkey’s Transport and Infrastructure Minister Murat Kurm told reporters on Friday during a visit to Elazig, one of the quake-hit provinces.
The minister added that they aim to complete 200,000 houses by the end of the year, but this is only a part of the 319,000 houses that Erdogan has promised to provide to earthquake victims within a year.
The Minister further pledged to build a total of 650,000 houses for earthquake victims and provide new housing to all citizens affected by the earthquake by the end of 2025.
Media reports said many earthquake victims are still living in tents despite the harsh weather conditions and are struggling to meet basic needs such as clean water.
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