Foundations laid for new housing in quake-hit Gaziantep, Kilis

The foundations of the new housings for quake survivors in the southeastern provinces of Gaziantep and Kilis were laid as of March 31, Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Murat Kurum has announced.

The foundations of 7,087 houses were laid in Gaziantep and 649 houses in Kilis with the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Stating that 2.5 million citizens are currently hosted in temporary accommodation areas, Kurum said that the ministry will prepare 100,000 additional containers until May and host at least 500,000 quake-hit citizens in these areas.

Kurum said that the damage assessment works in eight provinces, Gaziantep, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Kilis, Osmaniye, Elazığ, Hatay and Diyarbakır, were completed.

He noted that the teams determined that out of more than 2 million buildings in these provinces, about 312,931 buildings were determined to be damaged or needing urgent demolition.

Pointing out that they have carried out meticulous works since the first days of the disaster, Kurum said that after completing micro-zoning works and ground inspections, a total of 250,862 houses will be built in the southern province of Hatay.

The ministry also tendered a total of 12,966 village houses in 11 provinces, 2,000 of which are in Hatay, Kurum said.

Stating that 319,000 houses will be built in 11 provinces and 650 thousand houses in total within a year, Kurum said that they are taking steps to protect and revitalize the demography, sociology, history, art, culture, industry and architecture of the cities.

"Hatay has a special importance for us and our country. This province is of great importance due to its fertile soil, its commercial accumulation and being one of our gateways to the...