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DP World has inked a 30-year concession agreement with Syria's General Authority for Land and Sea Ports (GALSP) to develop and operate Tartus Port, according to a statement. Under the agreement, DP World will invest USD 800 mn to redevelop the port under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model and turn it into a trade node linking Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, the statement reads.
Where will the investments go? DP World will invest in adding enhanced cargo-handling equipment, advanced infrastructure, and integrated digital systems to boost efficiency across the port’s container and general cargo terminals. The port operator will also explore setting up industrial zones, freezones, dry ports, and freight transit stations in strategic areas across Syria.
Background: The concession agreement formalizes the port operator’s earlier commitment from May to invest USD 800 mn in the port’s infrastructure. The agreement is the biggest investment agreement yet for the new Syrian government, after it signed a USD 260 mn new berth agreement for Latakia port with French shipping giant CMA CGM also in May.
About the port: Tartus is Syria’s second largest port, with an annual handling capacity of about 20k containers and about 4 mn tons of cargo, Al-Monitor reported. The port boasts 24 berths with depths ranging from 4 to 14.5 m, according to data from the UN-backed coordination mechanism Logistics Cluster.
Belle of the ball: Situated on Syria’s Mediterranean coast, Tartus serve as a maritime gateway to trade routes across Europe, the Levant, and North Africa and influencing existing routes through the Bosporus and Suez. The project will increase the port’s capacity to handle general cargo, containers, breakbulk, and RoRo handling, strengthening Syria’s trade objectives.
The ex is out of the picture: To facilitate a new agreement with DP World, Syria’s newly established government reportedly terminated its contract with Russia's STG Stroytransgaz earlier this year after the Russian construction firm failed to fulfil its terms, including infrastructure developments and investments in the port. The Russian firm was tasked with overhauling the port for at least USD 500 mn in 2019, according to the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
