Turkey
has made great strides towards making its cities more sustainable, inclusive
and well planned.
High-level
officials from the World Bank, the European Union, the Ministry of Environment
and Urban Planning and officials from İller Bank met with local representatives
from the capital's municipalities at the launching of the Sustainable Cities
Program in Turkey.
The
Sustainable Cities Program aims to improve the economic, financial, environmental
and social sustainability of Turkish cities. The project will help cities lay
the foundation for sustainable infrastructure through comprehensive and
integrated municipal plans and link them to a strong investment plan.
The
program will also enable the concerned municipalities to obtain funding for
their investments to provide improved services to their citizens.
During
the launch of the program, "Sameh Wahba Global Director for Urban and Territorial Development, Disaster Risk Management and Resilience at the World Bank", emphasized that supporting sustainable cities is an essential mission to the World Bank's to promote shared prosperity and reaffirm commitment to working with Turkey to help overcome and Building sustainable and flexible cities challenges and promoting regional development.
The
partnership developed under the Sustainable Cities Program provides a unique
platform for integrated and multisectoral solutions to the various challenges
faced by Turkish cities and to increase the financial capacity of
municipalities, said "Johannes Zutt the World Bank Country Director for
Turkey".
The
Sustainable Cities Program includes a series of projects. The first project was
approved in 2016 and the second in 2018 with a total value of approximately US $
225 million. The aim is to support other projects in the future that allow
municipalities interested in obtaining long-term financing for their
investments.
Ten
municipal municipalities, their water and sanitation facilities will benefit
from technical assistance provided by the European Union, including the cities
of Antalya, Balikesir, Denizli, Kahramanmaras, Kayseri, Malatya, Mardin and
Mugla.