The European Investment Bank (EIB) announced a 400 million euro ($435 million) loan to Türkiye to help it rebuild after the Feb. 6 earthquakes, the bank announced Wednesday.
The loan, fully guaranteed by the EU, will help restore water and wastewater infrastructure in the southern Turkish provinces that were hit by the two powerful earthquakes.
The project for which the EIB loan is earmarked includes the rehabilitation, construction and extension of water and wastewater infrastructure in devastated regions, it noted.
"As part of the Team Europe package (who pledged 3.6 billion euros to support in March for people in Türkiye and Syria) our 400 million euros in financing will respond to current needs by upgrading water infrastructure," said EIB President Werner Hoyer.
Oliver Varhelyi, a member of the European Commission for Neighbourhood and Enlargement, said: "This is the delivery of EU solidarity with the people in Türkiye. I want to recall that Team Europe pledged more than 3 billion euros for people in Türkiye, including 1 billion euros in grants from the EU budget."
Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the government is spending about 3% of gross domestic product (GDP) this year to rebuild quake-hit regions.
