Turkiye, a resolute country and a resilient nation, has started rebuilding its cities and villages destroyed by the recent earthquakes. As the aftershocks still keep the population on the edge, the urge to get back on their own feet is what unites the people against the massive challenges.
The government of Turkiye has started the reconstruction work. According to the media reports, in the first phase 200,000 apartments and 70,000 village houses at a cost of at least $15 billion will be built.
The UNDP said it estimated that the destruction has left 1.5 million people homeless, with 500,000 new homes needed, Reuters reports.
The estimates for the entire reconstruction work vary. The UAE newspaper The National reports that the reconstruction and recovery costs may exceed $68 billion
The World Bank on Monday said that the two major earthquakes that hit Turkiye caused about USD 34.2 billion of direct physical damage. The bank estimated the earthquakes would also turn down the forecast made by Turkey on the gross domestic product growth of 3.5 per cent to 4 per cent in 2023, reports the Business World.
Anna Bjerde, World Bank Group vice president for Europe and Central Asia said, “As per our experience so far, the reconstructions are two to three times higher than the estimated direct physical damage.” /// nCa, 2 March 2023 [Image credit The Business Standard]