ANKARA, March 18, 2025 - The World Bank will provide additional financing worth €200 million ($207.5 million) in continuation of its support to build rural homes in areas that were devastated by the February 2023 earthquakes in Türkiye. The additional funding by the World Bank is being matched equally by the French development agency AFD, Agence Française de Développement, bringing the total amount of funds available to €400 million. This investment will enable the construction of 2,800 resilient housing units, providing shelter to 9,000 people in earthquake-affected areas.
The additional financing is in support of the $1 billion Türkiye Earthquake Recovery and Reconstruction Project, currently under implementation. The project, which was approved by the World Bank Board in June 2023, is aimed at helping restore health services; rebuild damaged or destroyed municipal infrastructure; and repair and rebuild rural homes damaged or destroyed by the earthquakes. The disaster killed more than 50,000 people, displaced more than 3.3 million, and damaged or destroyed over 1.9 million rural and urban housing units.
"The World Bank has been accompanying Türkiye since the day of the earthquakes, sharing our international experience in disaster risk management and reconstruction. And we will continue supporting the people of Türkiye recover from one of the worst natural disasters in the country's history. Helping rebuild homes and local economies of the affected communities is our top priority," said Humberto Lopez, World Bank Country Director for Türkiye.
By enabling the scale up of the original project, the additional financing (AF) will more than double the number of people who will be provided permanent homes to 16,000, from the originally envisaged 7,000 people. It will also extend the geographical coverage for rural housing reconstruction to include seven more disaster-affected provinces that also sustained damages due to the 2023 earthquakes.
All reconstruction efforts adhere to a build-back-better approach, ensuring resilience to future seismic and climate hazards and significant energy efficiency improvements. Investments prioritize compliance with Türkiye's latest seismic and climate-resilient building codes, universal access principles, and sustainable infrastructure solutions. The project also enhances disaster resilience by incorporating water and energy efficiency measures, and designs that strengthen long-term sustainability.
The World Bank is an important and reliable partner for Türkiye in disaster risk management, municipal infrastructure, housing, and health. Other World Bank-financed projects currently underway include the Türkiye Earthquake, Floods and Wildfires Emergency Reconstruction Project supporting green and resilient reconstruction in municipalities affected by disasters in 2020 and 2021; the Climate and Disaster Resilient Cities Project supporting resilient housing and municipal infrastructure in hazard-prone cities; the Disaster Risk Management in Schools Project and the Seismic Resilience and Energy Efficiency Project that strengthen the resilience of schools and public buildings, respectively, and Türkiye Preparedness for Public Health Emergencies Project' supporting the expansion of vaccine production and strengthening country's capacity to detect and initiate a rapid response to public health emergencies.
The World Bank is working with other development partners, such as AFD, to coordinate support for Türkiye's earthquake reconstruction and recovery efforts.
