Turkey and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed a EUR 400m loan agreement.
The loan deal, which will bandage the wounds of the February 6 twin quakes and rebuild the quake-hit provinces, has been the first project financing provided by the EIB to Turkey since 2018.
“Our communication with the EIB, as with other international organizations, has become much stronger. Thus, the amount of external resources received by Turkey for project financing has reached USD 7.5bn as of November,” Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek said.
The loan, fully guaranteed by the European Union (EU), will be provided by EIB Global, the arm of the EIB operating beyond the EU, with Ilbank acting as the intermediary.
The loan will help restore water and wastewater infrastructure in the quake-hit cities.
“We are spending around 3% of GDP this year to rebuild the quake-hit regions,” Simsek noted.