A consortium of Turkish and Arab companies signed agreements for the expansion of the Damascus International Airport and other projects. The consortium includes Türkiye’s Kalyon Holding, and Cengiz Holding, which are the two companies that lead the expansion of Istanbul Airport. Also involved is TAV Airports, a Turkish-French joint-venture airport operator. The $4 billion agreement was signed with the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority to expand Damascus International Airport, aiming to raise its annual passenger capacity to 31 million within eight years. The consortium also includes UCC Holding from Qatar and Assets Investments from the U.S.
“As a domestic and national company, we have focused on people in every region we have operated in for 81 years and aim to leave a legacy for future generations,” Kalyon Holding Chairman Murathan Kalyoncu said at the signing on August 6. “We successfully completed the construction of Istanbul Airport, Türkiye’s largest infrastructure project, in a record 42 months with a consortium including Cengiz Holding. We then elevated the airport to a global leadership position as a hub with an annual passenger capacity of 90 million.”
Kalyon, a large Turkish civil engineering company operating across several sectors, including energy, last May signed a $7 billion strategic cooperation agreement with the Syrian Ministry of Energy, joined by the same core consortium, including Kalyon Holding, Cengiz Holding, UCC from Qatar, and Power International from the U.S. This agreement includes a 5,000 MW energy project expected to generate about 35 billion kilowatt/hours annually, supplying a major share of Syria’s electricity needs.
Agreements worth more than $14 billion were also signed for 12 major strategic projects across Syria, the head of the Syrian Investment Authority Talal al-Hilali said at the ceremony at the Syrian presidential palace. Among the projects is a $2 billion investment for a Damascus metro, as well as more than $2 billion for a mall and two towers developments, he said.
Interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and U.S. special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack were both present at the signing ceremony, the official SANA news agency said.
Türkiye, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates have been taking the lead in committing to the reconstruction of Syria, with several multibillion-dollar deals being signed. It is not clear when the construction of these projects will actually commence.
