The reconstruction of Syria’s port infrastructure is picking up speed: DP World and CMA CGM have signed long-term concession agreements with the government in Damascus to comprehensively modernize the country’s two main Mediterranean ports.
DP World will develop and operate the port of Tartous under a 30-year concession agreement with the state-owned General Authority for Land and Sea Ports. The company plans to invest $800 million over the term to upgrade the port facilities and establish Tartus as a regional hub between Southern Europe, the Middle East and North Africa. The project is structured as a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model and includes the construction of new infrastructure, the use of modern handling technology, and digital systems to increase efficiency.
DP World also wants to examine possible free trade zones, inland logistics centers, and transit corridors in cooperation with local partners. After the fall of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad at the end of 2024, the new Syrian government terminated the lease agreement with the Russian company Stroytransgaz for the port of Tartus
The French shipping and logistics group CMA CGM is also involved in Syria. In May, the company signed its own 30-year contract with the new Syrian government to develop the port of Latakia. The plan is to build a new berth and invest $260 million to strengthen Syria’s largest port.
After more than a decade of civil war and massive underinvestment, the two projects mark an important step towards the country’s economic reintegration. The modernizations are expected to significantly expand Syria’s trade capacities and improve access to international markets.
