Turkey plans to build half a million homes within a year

The ministry must give priority, replace or transform all dangerous construction built before 1999. Can we do this in 15 years? Yes, we can. This means building 500,000 separate units annually,” said Ozaseki.

He added that the number of dangerous units in Istanbul is 200,000-250, while also adds that 300,000 other houses in Turkey must be replaced, reports “Hurriyet Daily News”, Periscopi broadcast.

“We have the power and knowledge to achieve this,” he said.

But he also acknowledged that his government “ravaged cities” with construction projects.

Even in the smallest of our cities, you see skyscrapers and a slum near it. If we had preserved our historical heritage, we would probably have created a much better structure of the city,” added Ozaseki, specifically citing the destruction of a hammami, an Ottoman bath built by the world's renowned architect, Mimar Sinan.

This place is built on a free land. Seventy percent of our citizens live in the first and second - degree earthquake areas. Just 56 earthquakes on magnitudeal power 6 occurred in the past century. We have lost about 100,000 people and paid about $100 billion to compensate for the damage,” said Ozaseki, adding that the country must live in line with its geographical conditions.

Citing the information he received from scientists, ousesaki stressed that residents living in some 15 million buildings built before 1999 are facing a threat of collapse.

At a separate meeting, Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu also said the government had “damaged” the character of cities./Periscopi/