Gov’t to offer interest-free loans in Diyarbakır
DİYARBAKIR
AA photo
The Turkish government on Sept. 4 announced that it was extending interest-free credit to tradesmen in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır’s Sur district, an area that has suffered heavy damage during clashes between security forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).“Our prime minister has instructed that all tradesmen in Sur be given two-year loans of 50,000 Turkish Liras [$16,944] with no repayment for six months. This loan is also zero-interest,” Environment and Urbanization Minister Mehmet Özhaseki said during a dinner in Diyarbakir, as reported by Anadolu Agency.
Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım also attended the dinner.
Earlier on Sept. 4, Yıldırım announced a stimulus package for the country’s 23 eastern and southeastern provinces that have been severely hit by fighting between the state and the PKK since mid-2015.
The package also aimed to reconstruct seven districts, including Sur, which have been fully ruined because of clashes between the state and the PKK.
“At first, we are investing 10 billion Turkish Liras [$3.4 billion] in seven districts that have been severely hit by terror,” Yıldırım said, listing them as Sur, Şırnak, Silopi, İdil, Cizre, Yüksekova and Nusaybin. A total of 36,000 new houses will be built in these provinces, while a special emphasis will be given to Sur, which contains Roman-era walls listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
