Türkiye’s earthquake-stricken zone receives $91.5B in public spending over last 3 years

Türkiye has spent a total of 3.6 trillion Turkish liras (approximately $91.5 billion) over the last three years to compensate for the damage in the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes in the country's southern and eastern provinces, with a focus on Kahramanmaras and Hatay, according to the Turkish Strategy and Budget Office (SBB).

Intensive efforts were made to address earthquake damage following assessments by public institutions and organizations, the private sector, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and other international organizations.

The housing needs of survivors were the priority, while the construction of permanent housing for disaster victims has been completed.

A total of 433,667 homes and 21,690 workplaces were allocated via lotteries.

In order to continue education and training activities in the region, $1.6 billion was set aside to build 13,321 classrooms and $158.2 million to reinforce 2,776 classrooms, respectively. The number of classrooms in the region is expected to increase by 15% once all construction work is completed, compared to pre-disaster levels.

Some $116.9 million was spent on the reconstruction, reinforcement, and maintenance of faculty buildings of universities in the region, as well as to renew the campus infrastructure.

The 2026 Investment Program allocates a little over $55 million for the reconstruction, reinforcement, maintenance, and repair of the affected facilities of the universities in the region.

Meanwhile, efforts were made to prevent job losses in the affected region and to support the labor market. On-the-job training programs and vocational courses cost $66.4 million and served 60,582 people in 11 provinces in the earthquake zone.

As part of the infrastructure investments, around $91.7 million in cash resources was allocated for landscaping and the purchase of vehicles, tools, and equipment to ensure that local municipality activities continue uninterrupted.

A total of $502.1 million was spent to address the urgent infrastructure and vehicle/equipment needs of the municipalities in the region, while around $1.2 billion was allocated to repair the energy infrastructure, especially the electricity distribution network, by the end of 2025.

Some $453.9 million was spent on repairing road and highway damage, $917.1 million on providing access to new settlements and housing and social facilities, $194.8 million on repairing urban roads, and $605.4 million on railway lines by the end of 2025. The allocated figure for railway lines is planned to be at $722.2 million by 2027.

The agricultural sector received $398.9 million in support payments for 11 provinces in 2025.

Efforts are ongoing to improve the economic activities in the manufacturing industry in particular, as well as to rebuild the earthquake-stricken zone, which is a key production and export hub for the country.

A total of $403.6 million was mobilized by development agencies and the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises Development and Support Agency (KOSGEB) for the recovery of the industrial sector through investments in small industrial sites, as well as the support for industrialists in the region.

The SBB report states that the recovery has largely been complete as a result of long-term and intensive efforts after the earthquake.

Inclusive, planned, and complementary investments have been realized to improve the region, while the reconstruction of the region was the priority, according to the SBB.

The report says that some significant progress has been made to meet the permanent housing needs of survivors, while funds were used to provide the necessary infrastructure to effectively deliver all public services, as well as to improve economic and social life.