JICA assisted the formulation of Kahramanmaras’s comprehensive reconstruction plan “Build Back Better Plan” in response to the devastated Turkey–Syria earthquakes in February 2023

In response to the pressing need for comprehensive disaster resilience and sustainable waste management, JICA has formulated the project titled “Project for Capacity Building for Local Municipalities on Disaster Risk Reduction and Waste Management” with the cooperation of Union of Municipalities of Turkiye (UMT).

Acknowledging the recent destructive earthquakes on 6th February 2023, we have broadened the project's scope to incorporate meticulous recovery and reconstruction planning for the earthquake affected region. As a part of the additional scopes, we have decided to provide support to plan the recovery and reconstruction process to make major contributions on mitigating the potential risks associated with future disasters.

Last August, we chose Kahramanmaraş as a model city for this assistance. Since then, JICA expert team has been conducting the technical assistance to Kahramanmaraş metropolitan municipality for the formulation of “Build Back Better plan”, in align with the concept of Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 adopted at the 3rd UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Today, we are pleased to share the BBB plan of the Kahramanmaraş metropolitan municipality with the cooperation of related organizations; UMT and Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, following the project's second Joint Coordination Committee held on February 28th.

Looking to the future, the BBB Plan will guide Kahramanmaraş for the next ten years. We'll continue supporting Kahramanmaraş to reflect BBB plan to their strategic plan and other existing plans and to establish the monitoring system for the smooth implementation of the proposed projects for the development of a disaster-resilient society.