The World Bank on Wednesday said it has approved a $449.2 million loan to Turkey to support green and resilient reconstruction in disaster-affected municipalities, strengthen resilience and improve disaster response.
The Turkey Earthquake, Floods and Wildfires Emergency Reconstruction Project (TEFWER) will support municipalities affected by earthquakes, floods and wildfires in 2020 and 2021, the World Bank said.
The project will undertake urgent repairs, structural strengthening, and reconstruction of damaged municipal-owned infrastructure and put in place measures aimed at increasing disaster preparedness and climate adaptation.
The bank said it also includes a mechanism (a Contingent Emergency Response Component) that will allow the government to rapidly reallocate unused project funds to support other municipalities affected by disasters and other crises over the project’s lifetime.
"The project aims to respond to the immediate and most critical reconstruction and rehabilitation needs from recent wildfires, floods and earthquakes as well as proactively supporting urgent measures required to build resilience to disaster and climate risks which are growing in frequency and intensity," the statement read.
"The World Bank is determined to support Türkiye’s actions in response to geophysical and climate change-induced risks faced by people, communities and the economy," said Auguste Kouame, World Bank Country Director for Turkey.
The project will directly benefit more than 8 million people who will have access to municipal infrastructure with restored operational capacity and resilience, while more than 17 million people will benefit from improved municipal disaster and emergency response capacity, the bank said.
It will also contribute to institutional strengthening for disaster and climate resilience through support to municipalities to integrate green, inclusive and resilient measures into spatial and investment plans.
The project simultaneously addresses the objectives of green and resilient construction in Turkey, restoring and strengthening or reconstructing disaster-affected infrastructure, improving disaster and climate resilience at subnational levels, and strengthening the institutional and technical capacity to scale-up disaster and climate-resilient development.
"We hope this partnership contributes to helping Türkiye’s growing cities become more resilient as infrastructure in the cities and their occupants face climate-related risks from floods, storms, landslides, extreme heat and cold, and water scarcity," project team lead Alanna Leigh Simpson said.
The project is aligned with the World Bank Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Turkey for fiscal year 18-23 which sets out the overall objective of supporting the country in achieving more sustainable and inclusive development by focusing on growth, inclusion and sustainability dimensions.
It contributes to the World Bank climate targets for 2021-2025 by supporting climate mitigation and adaptation in the public building and infrastructure sector.
Turkey ratified the Paris climate agreement late last year and has said it aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2053.