EU Finances Building Sports Facilities Across Turkey with The Ministry of Youth
The EU Delegation to Turkey signed a contract of €25 million with the KfW (Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau) for the construction of 26 recreational infrastructures in different cities of South Eastern Turkey together with the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The aim is to increase the social cohesion between the Syrian refugees and the host communities through sports activities.
During the next four years, KfW and the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the local authorities will select the sites to build facilities and purchase equipment where necessary. Football fields, youth centers, and sports halls will be built with a capacity up to 300,000 people after one year. By providing these additional facilities, new possibilities will be offered to local partners and authorities like municipalities, schools and sports associations, under the global approach promoted by the Ministry and its regional directorates. Already selected provinces are Adana, Adiyaman, Batman, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Mardin, Mersin, Osmaniye and Sanliurfa.
The Head of the EU Delegation to Turkey, Ambassador Christian Berger, said on the occasion: "The EU has been working with its partners to successfully develop projects in the fields of health, education, infrastructure, socio-economic support, and humanitarian assistance. It is the first contract of this kind under the €380 million budget dedicated to municipal infrastructures under Facility for Refugees in Turkey with a total budget of 6 billion to support Turkey in its efforts to shelter refugees. The EU assistance reaches refugees in need while at the same time helping host communities face the challenges involved. This project aims to make a positive contribution to all communities involved."
Background
The Facility for Refugees in Turkey:
The European Union has been supporting Turkey in response to the refugee crisis since 2011. Initial support was in the form of Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid (ECHO). Other EU financial instruments for medium- and long-term support were added later, responding to the protracted nature of the crisis. In January 2016 this support was substantially scaled up with the entry into force of the Facility for Refugees in Turkey.
Through the Facility, €6 billion has been committed to assist both refugees and host communities in Turkey, by providing assistance in key areas such as education, health, infrastructure, migration management, socio-economic development and humanitarian assistance.
The EU support to Syrians and host communities in the socio-economic sector focuses on skills development and employability, labour market access and integration of refugees. It includes also the Turkish population residing in communities with a high presence of refugees. The projects are intended to address current problems of Syrian refugees in the Turkish labour market, as well as to support host communities, Turkish institutions, local authorities and economies. Under the €6 billion the Facility for Refugees in Turkey allocates almost €1 billion to socio-economic projects.
For more information please contact:
Michel Cat - Programme Manager, Facility for Refugees in Turkey
T +90 312 459 87 00
For press inquiries:
Miray Akdağ - Press Officer for the Delegation of the European Union in Turkey
M +90 532 624 93 56 / T +90 312 459 88 77
