The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing further support to Turkey totalling EUR 200 million to increase resilience against earthquakes. The finance documentation was signed in Istanbul by the EIB Vice-President responsible for Turkey, Mr Pim van Ballekom, during his official visit to Türkiye İş Bankası A.S. (Isbank). The EIB funds aim to strengthen the resilience of Turkey’s residential buildings against earthquakes by significantly rehabilitating or replacing the existing housing stock of condominiums and individual houses with multiple or single owners. Eligible works will also include the related energy efficiency improvements. The final beneficiaries will be the individual property owners. Similar works on public sector buildings have already been financed with a total of EUR 500 million by the EIB, in the framework of the Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness Project (ISMEP), launched in 2006 as a proactive approach to managing earthquake risks through prevention and mitigation, following the catastrophic Marmara earthquake in 1999.

Isbank has become an important partner in the EIB’s support for SMEs and midcaps in Turkey, with a focus on investments contributing to sustainable communities. Such investments can be in the areas of energy efficiency, the environment, protection against natural disasters, health, the improvement of working conditions and compliance with legally required safety norms.