ANKARA

Turkey's president on Thursday unveiled a project for building 100,000 new low-cost housing units every year. 

“We are starting the process of constructing 100,000 low-cost housing in [all] 81 provinces of our country as part of our 2020 program,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the presidential complex in the capital Ankara.

He added that construction of the initial group of buildings will be completed in a maximum of one to one-and-half years after laying the foundation at the New Year.

The housing, which will be earthquake resistant, will represent the culture of traditional Turkish neighborhoods, said Erdogan, extolling the benefits of owning housing as well as models of the houses, cities, and the program’s payment and maturity details.

The project protocol was signed by Murat Kurum, the environment and urbanization minister, and Berat Albayrak, the treasury and finance minister.

* Writing by Burak Dag