Minister Owen Bonnici in technical talks in Turkey on best practices in the social and affordable housing sector
Minister for Accommodation and Lands Owen Bonnici held technical talks and visited various social and affordable housing projects and facilities in Istanbul, Turkey, as part of a visit aimed at strengthening cooperation and the exchange of experiences and best practices in the field of housing.
Minister Bonnici was accompanied by the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry for Accommodation and Lands, Ramon Deguara; the Housing Authority CEO, Matthew Zerafa; the Director at the Ministry for Accommodation and Lands, Matthew Borg; and the Ambassador of Malta to Turkey, Dr Marisa Farrugia.
During the visit, Minister Bonnici visited the TOKİ campus in Halkalı, Istanbul, where he held a meeting with the Chairman of TOKİ, Mustafa Levent Sungur, Vice-President of TOKİ, Ömer Caniklioğlu, Advisor to the President of TOKİ, Emre Karaçengel, Head of the Implementation Department, Murat Oskay, and Head of the Planning and Projects Department of Istanbul, Serhat Günkan.
During this meeting, TOKİ’s experiences in the field of social and affordable housing were discussed, as well as the models adopted to develop large-scale social housing projects while, at the same time, creating the infrastructure and services needed for communities.
A visit was also made to the TOKİ Community Centre, which forms part of the investment in social infrastructure accompanying social housing projects.
The TOKİ construction site in Kayabaşı was also visited, providing an opportunity to review the progress of the project and how social and affordable housing is being developed alongside infrastructure and community spaces.
Minister Owen Bonnici said that this visit is an important opportunity for the Ministry to continue exchanging experiences with other countries on social and affordable housing models and to strengthen relations between the two countries.
“This visit is giving us the opportunity to see first-hand how large-scale social and affordable housing projects can be developed together with the infrastructure and services that families and communities need. Our aim is to continue learning from different experiences and to strengthen links with other countries that have extensive experience in this sector,” said Minister Bonnici.
He also stressed the importance of social housing not being limited to the construction of residential homes, but rather forming part of a broader vision to create sustainable and resilient communities, with infrastructure, spaces and services that improve families’ quality of life.