TARANTO. NATO Support and Procurement Agency (NSPA) have begun loading the first 600 containers of NATO temporary housing to a contracted merchant vessel here on Saturday, February 18.
Having arrived in the Port of Taranto and off-loaded its cargo during the day on February 18, the ship has now begun loading the first tranche of more than one thousand containers of NATO temporary housing on and is expected to depart for Iskenderun, Turkey on February 20.
The shipment is the culmination of Allied Joint Force Command Naples (JFC Naples) and NSPA coordination to expedite the delivery of temporary housing for at least 4,000 people affected by the devastating earthquakes in Turkey and Syria.
The shipment is expected to arrive in Iskenderun, Turkey next week, and the establishment of the camp is expected to commence as soon as the equipment is off-loaded and delivered to the site in Iskenderun.
Concurrently, a joint Operational Liaison and Reconnaissance Team (OLRT) from JFC Naples and NSPA, have been working to prepare the site of the camp, coordinate logistical support, and contract the work force needed for establishing the camp.
The OLRT is on schedule to have all necessary preparation work complete when the shipment arrives, and fully expects work to establish the camp to begin as soon as the containers begin arriving at the site.
The Port of Taranto agreed to open port operations on the weekend to accommodate both the offloading and the loading of the ship outside of normal port hours of operation.
Additionally, NATO is coordinating the strategic airlift of tents from Pakistan to Turkey.
The remainder of containers for NATO temporary housing to accommodate as many as 4,000 people is expected to be delivered to Iskenderun while the OLRT and contractors are assembling the temporary housing contained in the first 600 containers.
The armed forces of Turkey are also planning to provide support to the buildout of the camp and provide for its security.
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