World Bank provides $642.6M in financing for Istanbul’s disaster preparation

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) — The World Bank has signed a €554.4 million ($642.6 million) financing agreement with Türkiye for the Istanbul Resilience Project, which was approved earlier this year, to strengthen the megacity’s disaster preparation and response capacity across the city, as well as to establish disaster-resistant and energy-efficient public buildings.

The project will be implemented by the Istanbul Governor’s Office’s coordination unit. The amount of external financing provided to Türkiye by global organizations has thus reached around $14.7 billion this year.

External funds provided for Istanbul’s disaster preparation, including the World Bank’s loan, totaled $1.9 billion.

The total amount financed for the reconstruction of the earthquake-stricken zone in the country’s southeast reached $7.5 billion.

Turkish Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek stated that the long-standing cooperation between Türkiye and the World Bank has resulted in significant progress.

“We have made significant progress in disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and sustainable urbanism,” he said.

“Our strong support for public investments aimed at enhancing Istanbul’s preparedness against earthquakes, disaster management capacity, and urban resilience will continue in line with our Medium-Term Program,” he added.