Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Mehmet Özhaseki answered the questions of the MPs at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Planning and Budget Commission. Emphasizing that the construction of village houses made of steel in the earthquake zone was recommended by scientists at the Earthquake Facts and Urban Transformation Council, Minister Özhaseki said, "Our professors' advice to us at the Urban Transformation Council was, 'Please build single-storey village houses from steel.' We figured out how much steel would go, talked to the steelmakers, and got their prices. Nearly 100 thousand steel houses will be built. It will be a type of house that will not collapse even if it is 9 sizes. This technology also needs to be brought to Turkey.” said.
Minister Mehmet Özhaseki answered the questions of the MPs after the presentation of the Ministry's 2024 budget at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Planning and Budget Commission. Responding to criticism about the Urban Transformation Law, which was discussed and enacted in the General Assembly of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, Minister Özhaseki said, “We started working on the law in the first days we came to the Ministry. Our expert friends worked on this law for months. We held 15 meetings, including opposition municipalities in Istanbul. We received suggestions from all walks of life and all stakeholders. We included these views in the law. We held a council in September. 110 of our scientists, experts and bureaucrats exchanged opinions. We added the recommendations of the Council Conclusion Declaration to our legislative work. We also held meetings saying, 'Let's not just inform the AK Party, let other parties also come, tell what they think, and contribute.' We also had some things included in the law from these meetings. This law is neither fast nor hasty, nor is it a law that aims to provide profit to anyone. This law is the accumulation of citizens living within the borders of the Republic of Türkiye. Our goal is to ensure that we do not cry again in this country, which we believe is truly an earthquake country, that our houses do not collapse, that no one suffers. “We are struggling for this.” he said.
“SOME MUNICIPALITIES WITH POPULATIONS EXCEEDING MILLIONS APPEARED TO BE IN THE EARTHQUAKE ZONE”
Minister Mehmet Özhaseki responded to the criticism that there was no team at every point in the earthquake zone and said, “Let me give you an example for you to understand better. 260 thousand independent sections will be demolished. If you had been informed about this earthquake 10 days in advance, they would have said '260 thousand independent sections will be demolished, take precautions'. What would you do? If you were to place 10 people per debris, you would need to have 2 million 600 thousand people present there. Is it easy? Indeed, the government was in the disaster area from the first hours. Our friends worked there for months. There are some municipalities with a population exceeding millions, they came, made an appearance and left; just like earthquake tourists. "You too have seen the municipalities that are artistic, so to speak, and so have our citizens." he said.
“NEARLY 100 THOUSAND STEEL HOUSES WILL BE BUILT”
Emphasizing that the construction of village houses made of steel in the earthquake zone was recommended by scientists at the Earthquake Facts and Urban Transformation Council, Minister Özhaseki said, "Our professors' advice to us at the Urban Transformation Council was, 'Please build single-storey village houses from steel.' We figured out how much steel would go, talked to the steelmakers, and got their prices. Tenders will start to appear as of next week. As many people as there are producing steel houses are welcome. Nearly 100 thousand steel houses will be built. It will be a type of house that will not collapse even if it is 9 sizes. This technology also needs to be brought to Turkey. Hopefully, we will build our solid, safe and climate-friendly village houses quickly with this new construction technology.” said.
“WE ARE USING ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE TO THE EARTHQUAKE AREA”
Answering the allegations that the Ministry's budget is not sufficient for earthquake residences, Minister Özhaseki said, “The construction of approximately 200 thousand houses has started. We will deliver 46 thousand houses by the beginning of the year. Moreover, since AFAD will pay for 200 thousand houses, they do not appear in our budgets. But we will use all our means and capabilities in these regions.” he said.
“ILLER BANK IS FOCUSED ON THE EARTHQUAKE ZONE WITH ALL ITS POSSIBILITIES”
Emphasizing that Iller Bank focuses on the earthquake zone with all its resources, Minister Özhaseki said, “We do not provide loans to municipalities outside the earthquake zone by Iller Bank anyway, we abolished the grants. This is not something specific to party A or party B. It is so that we can use the resources we have only in the disaster area. They come and insist on us from time to time. Why don't you give it? Isn't the Bank of Provinces the Bank of Municipalities?' True, municipalities have banks, but currently around 1 million 900 thousand citizens live outside their homes or in container cities. If you had the opportunity, would you use it in the disaster area, or would you give it to the municipality that said they would build a social facility or underpass there? This is a matter of conscience. That's why we stopped whatever we had, we're not giving it away. "We send all our budget to the earthquake zone." he said.
“CONSTRUCTION OF 200 THOUSAND HOUSES CONTINUES”
Stating that they made a decision to build a square and surrounding buildings in a healthier way, including all districts, Özhaseki said, “Currently, the construction of 200 thousand houses is continuing. 3 thousand 424 in Adana, 41 thousand 292 in Adıyaman, 6 thousand 758 in Diyarbakır, 1887 in Elazığ, 24 thousand 977 in Gaziantep, 45 thousand 186 in Hatay, 39 thousand 121 in Kahramanmaraş, 2 thousand 340 in Kilis 23 thousand 861 houses, 5 thousand 501 houses in Malatya, 5 thousand 653 houses in Osmaniye and 46 thousand XNUMX houses in Şanlıurfa. We will deliver XNUMX thousand houses to their beneficiaries by the beginning of the year. After that, all the houses completed each month will be given away. With On-Site Transformation, we expect the citizen to make his place in the neighborhood where he used to have memories and does not want to leave. "We have taken all kinds of facilitating measures in this regard," he said.
250 MILLION EUR LOAN FROM THE WORLD BANK FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECTS
Minister Özhaseki said that they received a loan of 250 million euros from the World Bank for their renewable energy projects and said, "Of the municipalities that applied for renewable energy, 91 percent of AK Party municipalities, 71 percent of trustee municipalities, 100 percent of MHP municipalities, CHP municipalities. “We said 'yes' to 100 percent of their demands and allowed them to use World Bank loans.” he said.