US to allocate $100 mln loan for quake-hit provinces

ANKARA

The United States International Development Finance Corporation (DFC), which is the U.S. government's development finance institution, and a Turkish bank have executed a finance agreement for a $100 million loan for the development of the provinces affected by the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

Türkiye’s Şekerbank will also allocate $33 million from its own resources to increase the total amount to $133 million.

The seven-year loan will be used primarily to support the development of the region affected by the Feb. 6 quakes, as well as for the financing of women's businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises.

With the DFC loan, Şekerbank aims to support approximately 350,000 enterprises and 1.5 million existing and new employment opportunities over the next seven years.

In line with the DFC and Şekerbank’s shared mission, the loan will be extended to expand financial inclusion and increase social impact.

“This loan is a tremendous step towards supporting the earthquake-affected communities in Türkiye. We are honored to play a part in our Turkish friends’ recovery and rebuilding process,” U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Jeffry Flake said in a press conference in Istanbul on Aug. 18.

The project follows $235 million in U.S. government support and over $110 million in U.S. corporate donations to the earthquake zone immediately following the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

In the meantime, Japan and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement worth 130.6 million Turkish Liras ($4.8 million) for recycling earthquake debris in Türkiye's southern provinces of Hatay and Kahramanmaraş, which suffered the most damage in deadly twin quakes.

The project, to be implemented within one year, will identify areas where debris, including asbestos and similar hazardous wastes, will be collected and temporarily stored in the provinces.

Two facilities will be established to recycle debris waste and four mobile crushers will be provided to the quake zones.