Türkiye has launched a public awareness campaign highlighting the economic cost of terrorism over the past four decades, illustrating how the resources could otherwise have funded major investments in infrastructure, energy, health care and industry.

The campaign comes as the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) filed a bill in Parliament to advance the two-year terror-free Türkiye initiative aimed at achieving peace by ending the conflict with the terrorist group PKK and its affiliated structures.

The initiative, launched across digital media platforms under the hashtag "National Solidarity," said the fight against terrorism had cost Türkiye about $2.3 trillion over the past 40 years and suggests the potential investments that could have been made with those funds.

The campaign has been widely shared on social media, receiving support from Cabinet ministers, lawmakers and other political figures.

Alternative investment scenarios

According to the Directorate of Communications, the estimated cost could have financed renewable energy capacity sufficient to meet Türkiye's electricity demand for 23 years through solar power or 17 years through wind energy.

The campaign also estimates the same amount could have funded the construction of:

• 1,888 Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridges (The third Bosporus bridge in Istanbul and one of the longest and widest of its kind in the world)
• 1,106 Osmangazi Bridges (A 2.6 km suspension bridge crossing the Gulf of Izmit that drastically cuts travel time between Istanbul and Izmir)
• 195 Northern Marmara Motorways (A major 400+ km express highway bypassing central Istanbul to carry intercity freight and transit)
• 218 Istanbul Airports (Türkiye's massive main international aviation hub located on the European side of Istanbul)
• 1,504 Eurasia Tunnels (A 5.4 km double-deck undersea road tunnel connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides under the Bosporus)

Industry, healthcare, housing

The campaign also presents estimates of what the funds could have supported across other sectors.

According to the published infographics, the resources would have been sufficient to build:

• 15,000 organized industrial zones
• 2,000 automobile manufacturing plants
• 4,500 high-technology production facilities
• 7,500 defense industry manufacturing facilities

Industry and Technology Minister Mehmet Fatih Kacır said eliminating terrorism would create stronger conditions for investment, production and economic development.

"With a Terror-Free Türkiye, the path for investment, production and development will become much stronger," Kacır said.

"Türkiye will write new economic success stories with the spirit of National Solidarity."

The campaign also estimates the funds could have financed:

• 5,150 city hospitals
• More than 3.65 million family health centers
• Around 36.3 million social housing units
• More than 31.1 million earthquake-resistant homes
• 460,000 schools, each with 24 classrooms, totaling around 11 million classrooms
• 1,150 dams
• 66,500 firefighting helicopters or 32,000 firefighting aircraft

Security, economic development

In a statement accompanying the campaign, the Directorate of Communications said terrorism had targeted not only Türkiye's security but also its economic development and social welfare.

"For years, the trillions of dollars allocated to combating terrorism prevented investments in our future, from energy and education to healthcare, transportation, industry and technology," the statement said.

The statement also cited President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's remarks that achieving the goal of a Terror-Free Türkiye would benefit all 86 million citizens by supporting economic growth, development and national prosperity.