President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan pledged to make Türkiye disaster-resistant, as he said Hatay would be the "showcase" of the project.
Speaking at a groundbreaking ceremony for homes and hospitals to be built following last month's earthquakes, Erdoğan said his government will prioritize urban transformation projects.
"We are determined to ensure that our country is resistant to disasters in a short period. Hatay will be the showcase of this model," he said, adding that they will not leave the area until the wounds of the earthquake are healed and everything is reconstructed better than before.
If reelected, Erdoğan said urban transformation would be the first thing on the agenda of his next government.
Following the earthquakes, the president pledged quick recovery for the quake zones and said the state will complete housing reconstruction within a year, and was preparing a program to "lift the country to stand once again."
Türkiye plans to construct enough buildings in a year to meet the needs of quake victims, Erdoğan said, adding that 319,000 houses would be built in the first year and 650,000 in total.
No other country than Türkiye could come to the stage of rebuilding in such a short time after a disaster with such severe destruction, he stressed.
About the ongoing establishment of temporary accommodation centers, Erdoğan said: "We aim to set up 100,000 containers across the region by May. The distribution of tents continues uninterruptedly."
Speaking after the iftar dinner in Hatay, Erdoğan said Türkiye is dealing with the devastating consequences of "one of the greatest" natural disasters in human history.
"We can overcome this only with solidarity," he added.
