Turkish 2024 budget allocates $37bn for quake-hit regions

Cevdet Yılmaz/X

Turkey has allocated 1.03 trillion lira ($37 billion) in its 2024 draft budget to meet the cost of earthquake-related damage, according to vice president Cevdet Yılmaz.

“Our priority is to rebuild our cities destroyed by the earthquakes,” Yılmaz said at a news conference giving details of the government’s 2024 budget proposal.

Spending is estimated at 11.08 trillion lira, while revenue will stand at 8.44 trillion lira. The largest share of the budgeted expenses is directed to education at 14.6 percent.

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Social aid and support will be increased to 497 billion lira compared to a mere 1.6 billion lira in 2002, Daily Sabah newspaper reported citing the vice president.

Economic growth is forecast to reach 4.4 percent for 2023, Yılmaz said, adding the economy will expand at four percent next year.

The GDP grew by 3.9 percent in the first half of 2023, continuing growth for 12 consecutive quarters.

Yılmaz said that the development plan was presented to the parliament following its endorsement by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

The plan’s vision for 2024-2028 aims to create a “stable, strong, prosperous, environmentally friendly and disaster resistant Turkey.

“We have completed our 12th Development Plan, which we are working on with the 2053 vision and (which) sets out the roadmap for Turkey’s next five years,” Erdoğan said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

“We aim to reach a national income of $1.59 trillion and income of $17,554 per capita in 2028,” Daily Sabah reported, citing the president.

Yılmaz said the government aims to achieve exports of $255 billion in 2023 and $267 billion in 2024.

On the other hand, the tourism revenue will hit a “new record”, reaching $49 billion in 2023 and $52.5 billion in 2024, the vice president said.