The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said it is helping investments in energy efficient and anti-seismic property development through its Turkish Residential Energy Efficiency Financing Facility (TuReeff).
The programme combines as much as USD 216 million (EUR 201.6 million) of loans from the EBRD and EUR 50.41 million of grant co-financing from the Clean Technology Fund (CTF). In addition, the European Union provides EUR 9 million and the CTF secured EUR 1.87 million for technical cooperation projects, the report on the bank’s website said.
The seismically active area is known for some of the worst earthquakes in history. There is a collision zone of the Eurasian Plate and both the African and Arabian Planes, and it is considered a hotspot for potential damaging hazards.
The government has implemented an urban transformation plan (UTP): to demolish and reconstruct thousands of buildings in those earthquake-prone areas deemed to be unsafe. EBRD developed it even further. TuReeff encourages companies to build not only safer, but more energy-efficient housing. Construction enterprise DMS Yapı, based in Istanbul, is one of the early beneficiaries, thanks to the loan it received from Şekerbank T.A.Ş., the very first to join TuReeff, the bank stated.
The facility provides finance to small and medium-sized construction companies and project developers willing to invest in sustainable energy projects. In fact, this is currently one of the top priorities for Turkey, as its residential sector is identified as one of the most energy intensive ones. Jean-Patrick Marquet, EBRD’s country director, said: “The reason why we focus on investments that promote energy efficiency in the residential sector in Turkey is because we believe that they provide high value for money. With the TuReeff programme and its advisory services we can also help increase the awareness of the benefits of the energy efficiency improvements in households across the country.”
To support this upgrade, TuReeff’s engineering team provided the company with technical assistance through every phase, according to the article. “These included help in raising awareness on energy efficiency measures, developing and implementing the project, as well as verification of the results. The banks participating in the programme, on the other hand, received a helping hand in a number of areas – from product development, marketing and communications, pipeline development, eligibility assessments and outcomes reporting,” EBRD said.
Households’ energy bills are likely to decrease and at the same time their standard of living, as well as safety, will increase considerably, the bank claims.
