The issue of the fastest urban transformation of the Turkish metropolis has again come to the fore. AIDER President Melih Tavukcuoglu stressed that Istanbul can really be "renovated" - we mean, first of all, in the sense of providing absolutely all its residents with safe and earthquake-resistant housing - in 10-20 years. But only on condition that the organizations responsible for this process will be provided with sufficient financial resources, and on time.
A number of programs have been launched to accelerate the relocation of Istanbul residents to high–quality apartments, including they themselves can buy or build their own housing - capital or prefabricated houses - using installments or, for example, the recently announced interest-free loan.
Recall that for the restoration of the region affected by the earthquake – where about 14 million people live in 11 "affected" provinces – an amount of about $10 billion has been budgeted. The restoration of the first 200 000 damaged residences has already started.
But considering how big Istanbul is, only this megacity will require an amount at least two to three times more - to upgrade not only houses, but also schools, hospitals, and other infrastructure, including roads. And residential buildings – especially: after all, there are many houses in Istanbul that have been built since the 1950s, when the quality of construction was very poor. It is very difficult to maintain such buildings in working condition. And now the volume of really safe houses in Istanbul is almost below 30%.
So, it is extremely important to attract the population; Tavukcuoglu stressed that the preferential loan provided to Turks in the amount of 600 000 Turkish lira (TL) for one residence has already been increased to 1.2 million TL, but as a contractor he considers it more appropriate to raise this amount to 2.5 million TL.
Melih Tavukcuoglu once again reminded that it is not known when an earthquake may occur in Istanbul; therefore, it is necessary to move the population to new and durable homes as soon as possible.
At the same time, a number of international and not only companies, reinsuring themselves, are moving offices from Istanbul to Ankara.