Hatay Municipality Breaks Ground on Külliye Complex While Earthquake Survivors Still Live in Container Settlements

According to a report by Sözcü, Hatay Municipality has launched construction on a külliye complex even as the majority of the province's earthquake victims continue to live in container-home settlements. The February 2023 earthquake left thousands of Hatay residents homeless, and permanent housing construction has progressed far more slowly than expected.

According to Sözcü's account, residents say spending public money on such a project before urgent housing needs are met is unacceptable as a matter of priorities. The report covers in detail the budget allocated to the külliye and the tender process used to award it.

Hatay was one of the provinces most severely damaged in the earthquakes of February 6, 2023. More than two and a half years on, the continued absence of permanent housing for earthquake-survivor families has made the municipality's resource allocation decisions a flashpoint of political controversy.