Global financial institution, the World Bank, sanctions a $650 million venture titled the Istanbul Resilience Project.
The World Bank has announced a significant project aimed at enhancing the resilience of Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, to emergencies and climate risks. The project, valued at $650 million, will focus on improving the city's disaster preparedness, earthquake resilience, and overall resilience to climate shocks.
The primary objective of the Istanbul Resilience Project is to safeguard lives, livelihoods, and economic activity in Istanbul. Given the city's location on the North Anatolian Fault and its history of devastating seismic events, the project aims to mitigate the impact of future earthquakes and climate shocks on its population of over 15 million and its critical economic role, which generates about one-third of Turkey's GDP.
Key focus areas of the project include strengthening emergency preparedness and response capacities, retrofitting and reconstruction of buildings and public infrastructure, safeguarding key public services, enhancing disaster risk reduction governance and capacity, and protecting economic assets and livelihoods.
By retrofitting and reconstructing buildings and public infrastructure, the project aims to make them more resilient to earthquakes, addressing the vulnerability of Istanbul’s aging and historical structures. Additionally, the project will focus on ensuring the city's critical services remain operational during emergencies to preserve economic continuity and protect communities.
The project also emphasises the importance of adopting updated building codes and establishing frameworks to reduce risks related to earthquakes and climate-related shocks. Moreover, it will integrate resilience measures into urban planning and invest in infrastructure upgrades to protect economic assets and livelihoods.
These efforts build upon earlier initiatives like the Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness Project (ISMEP), which also focused on earthquake retrofitting and disaster risk management with support from the World Bank and other partners.
The World Bank's focus on this project underscores its commitment to sustainable urban resilience goals, emphasising continuity of public services, protection of communities, and economic stability in disaster contexts. The project is a testament to the World Bank's dedication to improving the lives and livelihoods of people in Istanbul and beyond.
[1] World Bank Group. (n.d.). Istanbul Resilience Project. Retrieved from World Bank Group website
[2] World Bank Group. (n.d.). Istanbul Seismic Risk Mitigation and Emergency Preparedness Project (ISMEP). Retrieved from World Bank Group website
- The integration of resilience measures into urban planning and infrastructure upgrades of the Istanbul Resilience Project is also aimed at mitigating the financial risks associated with climate-change and earthquakes for businesses and the economy.
- To further strengthen Istanbul's resilience, the project will invest in environmental science research, especially in climate-change adaptation strategies that can support the city's long-term growth, safety, and business sustainability.
- As a part of risk management and disaster preparedness, the project will collaborate with local businesses to develop contingency plans and mitigation strategies to tackle emergencies and climate shocks and ensure continuity across industries.
