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Syria charts post-war reconstruction course

14 August 2025

 

On 7 August, Syria signed a $4bn memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop and expand Damascus International airport with a consortium comprising Qatari, Turkish and US-based companies.

The MoU was the latest of several foreign investment agreements signed in recent months, following the toppling of the Bashar Al-Assad government in December.

Since then, Syria’s new president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, has overseen a political transition and made groundbreaking progress in reaching agreements, most critical of which was the rollback of EU and US sanctions.

For decades, the sanctions have kept Syria severely isolated from the global financial system and crippled its economy, while today, they are a critical hindrance to the reconstruction efforts needed after more than a decade of conflict.

The pivotal moment came in May when US President Donald Trump announced his intention to lift all US sanctions on Syria.

This decision came after consultations with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and in conjunction with a pre-arranged visit by Al-Sharaa to Saudi Arabia to meet with Trump in Riyadh.

A few weeks later, the EU also announced the lifting of its economic sanctions on Syria. The move removed a major obstacle to the ability of the government in Damascus to restart the Syrian economy and access the international financial aid and support necessary to begin rebuilding the country and its infrastructure.

Shortly afterwards, Syria completed its first international bank transfer in 14 years using the Swift network, marking a significant milestone in the economic rehabilitation of the country following its emergence from civil war and sanctions.

This direct commercial transaction was conducted from a Syrian bank to an Italian bank on 15 June, as confirmed by Syria’s Central Bank governor, Abdelkader Husriyeh.

The US formally lifted most of its sanctions on Syria in July through an executive order signed by Trump. The move largely dismantled a system in place since 2004 and formalised the pledge made by the US president in May.

Foreign investment agreements

Wider international relations hold the key to the Syrian economy’s prospects. In particular, Gulf countries are a potential source of investment that Al-Sharaa is keen to exploit, and Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE have been making the running.

In July, Saudi Arabia signed over 47 investment agreements, worth more than SR24bn ($6.4bn), as part of its commitment to rebuilding Syria. The agreements cover sectors including real estate, infrastructure, finance, communications and information technology, energy, industry, tourism, trade and investment, and healthcare, among others.

About $3bn of the total investment has been earmarked to be spent on rebuilding Syrian infrastructure that was badly damaged in the war. As part of the deal, Saudi Arabia will also construct three new cement factories in the country.

Another $1bn will be invested by Saudi Arabia-based telecommunications companies to upgrade Syria’s telecom sector.

Other sectors, including agriculture and finance, are also expected to benefit from these agreements.

The investment agreements with Saudi Arabia follow Syria’s signing of a $7bn energy deal with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and US-based companies to help revive its electricity sector.

In May, Syria’s Energy Ministry signed a $7bn MoU with a consortium led by Qatar’s UCC Holding to develop 5GW of power generation capacity – doubling the country’s output – by constructing new gas and solar power plants.

The agreement covers the development of four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants in Traifawi, Homs and Zayzoun, Deir-Azzour and Mehardeh in Hama, with an installed capacity of 4GW, and a 1GW solar power plant in Wedian Al-Rabee in the southern region of Syria.

The projects will be implemented under build-own-operate and build-operate-transfer models alongside power-purchase agreements. Following final agreements and financial close, completion is expected within three years for the gas plants and two years for the solar plant.

A UCC Holding-led group also signed a $4bn MoU to develop and expand Damascus International airport.

The consortium comprises UCC Holding as the primary developer; three Turkish partners, Cengiz, Kalyon and TAV; and the US-based Assets Investments USA.

The project will be implemented under a build-operate-transfer model and covers the expansion of the Damascus International airport in five phases.

The expansion will ultimately increase the airport's capacity to handle 31 million passengers annually.

The agreement also includes the construction of a 50-kilometre road leading to the airport and $250m in financing to purchase up to 10 Airbus A320 aeroplanes for Syrian Airlines.

UAE ports operator DP World also signed an agreement in July with Syria’s General Authority for Land & Sea Ports to develop a port in the city of Tartous.

The estimated $800m deal will allow DP World to develop, manage and operate a multipurpose terminal in Tartous. The concession period is 30 years. The deal also includes cooperation in establishing industrial and free trade zones. 

The recent signing of agreements by Syria to attract foreign investments marks a pivotal step towards economic revitalisation, signalling a potential shift in the nation's post-conflict recovery and a renewed commitment to fostering international partnerships for sustainable development.

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Yasir Iqbal

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