Kurum

Turkey readies itself to accelerate urban transformation projects as some 10,000 residences for a satellite city will be constructed in the quake-hit eastern Elazığ province's Yemişlik district.

The magnitude 6.8 quake of Jan. 24 caused 37 deaths in Elazığ province, about 550 km (340 miles) east of Ankara, and four in neighboring Malatya.

In the wake of a 6.8-magnitude earthquake on Jan. 24 that claimed at least 40 lives, the government is set to kick off an urban transformation project in the eastern province of Elazığ after what it saw as a wake-up call following the collapse of several earthquake-prone buildings, vowing to replace them with disaster-resilient buildings.

Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum has said a team of more than 500 personnel under the coordination of Turkey's disaster and emergency agency AFAD began working at a site of the Elazığ earthquake, in eastern Turkey, and that the housing needs of earthquake-affected citizens would be met immediately.

The process for preparing the environmental impact report on Turkey's Canal Istanbul megaproject was one of the most transparent in the country, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum said on Dec. 26.

All drinks containers in Turkey will be covered by a deposit return scheme by 2023, Environment and Urbanization Minister Murat Kurum has announced.

Minister Murat Kurum