Transport

Turkey, Syria, and Jordan have announced an agreement to revive the Hijaz Railway, as part of their efforts to restore overland and railway connections and to facilitate trade movement between them. The Hijaz Railway, which once connected Damascus to Medina, has been practically defunct since the early 1920s. The project is widely regarded as a venture that could bring significant benefits to the three countries as well as Saudi Arabia, and create new transportation corridors in the region. Yet some critics argue that it faces numerous challenges, ranging from difficulties in financing and upgrading the network to questions over its economic feasibility compared with alternative projects, in addition to the geopolitical and security threats that could undermine its implementation.

Syria has announced several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) worth around USD 14 billion with Arab and international companies, covering a series of large-scale infrastructure projects, including the long-delayed Damascus Metro and a new futuristic airport.

On Sunday, the General Commission for Land and Sea Borders (GCLSB) announced an investment agreement with the Emirati-based company DP World to manage the Tartous port, marking the end of the contract with Russian company Stroytransgaz Engineering (STG). The termination of the STG contract over Tartous port is viewed by some as indicative of a broader approach by the Syrian authorities towards a gradual reduction of Russian influence in the country.

In recent weeks, the Ministry of Transport has meet with foreign investment companies, the Islamic Development Bank, as well as representatives of France, Cyprus, Italy, Jordan, and Turkey to discuss plans to rehabilitate railway infrastructure.

The Syrian-Jordanian Economic Forum opened in the Dama Rose Hotel in Damascus on May 26, with the participation of numerous business representatives from both countries.

The Syrian aviation sector has recently witnessed a series of significant developments, from the entrance of the first EU-based airline into the Syrian market, the resumption of international flights to Aleppo, and reports about the launch of a new Syrian-Emirati airline.

In June 2025, Dan Air will become the first airline based in the European Union to operate direct commercial flights to Syria since the fall of the Assad regime. The Romania-based carrier has announced four routes to Damascus from Bucharest, Berlin, Frankfurt, and Stockholm. 

In January, the caretaker Ministry of Transport announced its decision to allow the import of vehicles into Syria. The new measure permits the importation of all types of cars and vehicles, provided they are not more than 15 years old. This decision, the first of its kind since 2011, has significant economic, environmental, and infrastructural implications.

In recent days, the French company CMA CGM signed a new agreement to continue operating the container terminal at the Port of Lattakia, a delegation of British oil company Gulfsands met with Syria's Minister of Energy, and transitional president Ahmad Al-Sharaa welcomed a Chinese business delegation.

On March 9, a vessel operated by the Dubai-based Caerus shipping company docked in Lattakia port, inaugurating the direct Jeddah-Lattakia shipping line announced by the Saudi General Authority for Ports (Mawani) in late February.

On Monday, the Council of the European Union announced a partial lift of sanctions in the energy, transport and banking sector, although it is unclear if the impact of these measures will be significant. The E.U. removed from its blacklist six entities: Industrial Bank, Popular Credit Bank, Savings Bank, Agricultural Cooperative Bank, Central Bank of Syria and Syrian Arab Airlines, and lifted the asset freeze on all of them except the Central Bank.

Turkish Airlines, Royal Jordanian and Qatar Airways are back to Syrian airports after a 13-year hiatus, Ankara has touted negotiations about a maritime demarcation agreement with Damascus, and the French giant CMA CGM is poised to sign a new agreement to renew its contract managing the Port of Lattakia's container terminal. Two months after the ousting of the Assad regime, Syrian ports and airports are gradually reconnecting to the world, albeit at a slow pace.

The United States Treasury Department’ Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) announced on November 14 a new round of sanctions targeting two members of the Katerji Group Company, a fleet of 11 vessels associated with the group, and nine companies that operate these vessels. 

French shipping company CMA CGM has extended its contract with the Syrian government to manage the Port of Lattakia’s container terminal. The contract was due to expire in September, and the Syrian government had invited CMA CGM to bid for the renewal.

Since August, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES) has issued several decisions reducing fuel allocations in the transportation sector prompting a wave of strikes by minibus drivers in different cities in the northeast. In AANES territory, those working in the transportation sector ­– such as drivers of vans, also called minibus – can buy determined amounts of subsidised diesel at SYP 550 per litre, while unsubsidised diesel costs 4,700 SYP per litre.

The Maersk Narmada vessel recently became the last Maersk vessel to dock in Syria, ending the company's ten-year operations in the country. The company's withdrawal is reportedly due to the difficulties of navigating sanctions.

The Syrian government is negotiating to extend the contract it has with French shipping giant CMA CGM over the management of the port of Lattakia’s container terminal. The Ministry of Transport has established a committee to negotiate with the French company but that does not necessarily mean that the contract with LICT will be eventually extended.

A decision by the Syrian government to shift phosphate exports handled by the Port of Lattakia to the port of Tartous has highlighted tensions between the foreign private operators of these ports and the government. Syria holds the fourth or fifth largest rock phosphate reserves worldwide.

State sources recently announced that Syrian Airlines plans to establish a joint venture with an unknown private company to invest, manage, and operate its activities and those of the Damascus Airport.

As the regime seeks to further capitalise on the earthquake, two international airlines announced that they planned to operate commercial flights in and out of Damascus.