Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) Signed 60 billion Japanese ODA Loan Agreement with Türkiye to Support Reconstruction of Earthquake Affected Areas in Türkiye

On April 25, 2024, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) signed a loan agreement with the Ministry of Treasury and Finance of the Republic of Türkiye, to provide a Japanese ODA loan of up to 60 billion Japanese Yen , which is equivalent to nearly 12.8 billion TL, for “ Emergency Earthquake Disaster Reconstruction Project ”. Exchange of Notes for the Project was also signed by Ministry of Treasury and Finance and Ambassador of Japan to Türkiye.
The signing ceremony was held with the presence of H.E. Mr. Mehmet Şimşek, Minister of Treasury and Finance; H.E. KATSUMATA Takahiko, Ambassador of Japan to Türkiye; and Dr. TANAKA Akihiko, President of JICA.

One year has passed since the devastating earthquakes occurred in February 2023, but immense impact of the earthquakes is continuing and people are still living in difficult times in the earthquake affected areas. Residents of people, infrastructure, and social services are all damaged, and it is estimated that billions of dollars are needed for the recovery.

With an aim to stabilize the lives of people in the earthquake affected area in Türkiye, the Project will support will support:

1. Reconstruction and construction of municipal infrastructures;
2. Procurement of ambulances and reconstruction and construction of ambulance stations; and
3. Reconstruction and construction of rural housing and village infrastructure.

Three components of the Project will be executed by ILBANK, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change. The JICA’s loan was formulated in close coordination with the World Bank as a parallel co-financing project.

As an earthquake-prone country just like Türkiye, Japan has a strong sympathy towards the victims of the earthquake in February 2023. After the earthquake, JICA has provided a series of support, starting from the dispatch of emergency rescue and medical teams, to knowledge sharing based on Japanese past experiences of earthquakes. On December 2023, JICA also concluded a loan agreement with KOSGEB, to provide a Japanese ODA loan of up to 20 billion Japanese Yen, to support MSMEs in the earthquake affected areas.

By supporting the infrastructure, housings, and health services for the people of earthquake affected areas, we hope to contribute to swift recovery and reconstruction of the earthquake-affected areas.