President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Monday announced that Türkiye would construct 14,600 small-scale industrial stores in the earthquake zones, including 3,000 in the Adıyaman province.
Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony, the president said the newly constructed stores would be handed to the local shop owners, artists and business executives.
He also noted that the state would construct 50,000 homes for earthquake survivors in the province.
Adıyaman, one of the 11 provinces severely hit by the pair of Feb. 6 earthquakes that left over 50,000 dead, was also ravaged by recent flash floods that caused additional inconvenience for earthquake survivors, with numerous homes, hospital units and temporary shelters damaged because of prolonged rain.
The quake-affected provinces are home to some 13.5 million people or 15% of Türkiye’s population. In addition, the region accounts for nearly 10% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
Many businesses lost workers or sustained significant damage. Over 2 million people are estimated to have left the region, accounting for about 16% of Türkiye’s agricultural production last year.
