The construction of some 45,186 independent housing units in Hatay, initiated after the earthquakes on Feb. 6, is currently in progress, a senior official said Saturday, adding that delivery of nearly 7,000 homes to their rightful owners is slated to take place by the end of the month.
"Construction of 45,186 independent units is ongoing in our Hatay. By the end of this month, we will deliver a total of 6,979 homes, including 6,219 houses and 760 village houses, to our rightful brothers," Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Minister Mehmet Özhaseki said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, featuring the video of ongoing works.
According to the statement from the ministry, the construction of houses and village homes, which started promptly after the devastating earthquakes that razed dozens of buildings to the ground and left at least 50,000 people killed, is progressing continuously in the region.
In Hatay, which suffered the most damage in the earthquakes, disaster houses and village homes reflecting regional and horizontal architecture are being built.
In the Kırıkhan district, 35 out of 40 blocks in the project, which consists of 40 blocks, have completed their reinforced concrete constructions.
In the houses where the final stage of works before handover is ongoing, infrastructure works are also continuing without interruption. The project includes not only living spaces but also landscaping and children's play areas.
Özhaseki mentioned that they have reached the final stage in constructing earthquake houses in Kırıkhan and would hopefully deliver the keys for the houses built adhering to regional infrastructure this month.
Officials earlier estimated the cost of the damage and reconstruction following the earthquakes to be around $100 billion.
In a separate statement on his social media on Sunday, the minister also provided information regarding the work in the province of Kilis.
"We will build a total of 4,058 independent sections consisting of residences, village houses, workplaces, barns and warehouses. We have completed the tender for 2,340 houses and we are continuing their construction," he said.
"We will deliver our 1,045 houses to our fellow citizens by the end of December. We continue to heal the wounds of the Feb. 6 earthquakes together," he added.
To address the housing needs of the affected residents, construction of new residences for the earthquake survivors commenced briefly after the earthquakes, dubbed as the "disaster of the century."
The ministry earlier announced the plan for the first phase of deliveries in the province of Kahramanmaraş as well, stating some 10,337 residences are expected to be handed over to their beneficiaries in December.
