ANKARA

The amount of external resources Türkiye received for project financing reached $7.5 billion as of November this year, the treasury and finance minister told Anadolu.

Mehmet Simsek recalled that Türkiye and the European Investment Bank (EIB) this week signed a loan agreement worth €400 million ($435 million) for use of rebuilding after the Feb. 6 earthquakes.

The loan, which is fully guaranteed by the EU, will help restore water and wastewater infrastructure in the southern Turkish provinces hit hard by the two powerful earthquakes.

Pointing out that the last project financing provided by the EIB was in 2018, Simsek said, "Our communication with the EIB, as with other international organizations, has become much stronger."

Simsek stressed that the Turkish government is spending about 3% of GDP this year to rebuild quake-hit regions.