The UAE’s Eagle Hills and ICD eye real estate, tourism investments in Syria

Emirati players are once again doubling down on Syria as the country looks to attract investments for its reconstruction, the costs of which could balloon to up to USD 216 bn. Last year saw AD Ports and DP World pledge mns of USD in investments in the country after sanctions were lifted, with a focus on rebuilding its logistics and supply chain networks — now, the focus is on real estate.

Eagle Hills is weighing the launch of two large-scale urban developments in Syria with a combined development value of over USD 50 bn, Asharq Business reports, citing a source familiar with the matter. Meanwhile, Investment Corporation of Dubai (Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund) Managing Director Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani met with Syrian President Ahmed Al Sharaa to discuss how Emirati capital could plug into reconstruction across real estate, tourism, and financial services, according to Syrian Arab News Agency.

The plans are being discussed as part of a visit from a senior Emirati delegation to Damascus for a Syrian-Emirati business forum. Eagle Hills Founder and Chairman (as well as Emaar CEO) Mohamed Alabbar is part of the delegation, and is expected to walk counterparts through the concepts and the investment setup behind them.

Proposal #1: The first development will likely be a 33 mn sqm master-planned development in Damascus’ Dummar area, combining residential districts, hotels, and commercial space. Internal projections linked to the plan point to a sizable contribution to GDP and foreign currency inflows. The project could see up to 320 km of roads developed, along with 73k housing units and 3.2k hotel rooms.

The economic impact? That’s estimated to be over USD 63 bn, with USD 20 bn in FDI inflows expected.

The second proposal shifts to the coast, with a mixed-use development proposed in Latakia spanning roughly 15 mn sqm offering 29k residential units, 2.8k hotel rooms, and a road network ranging between 90-150 km in length. That project could draw USD 18 bn to the economy, along with USD 7.5 bn in FDI.

What’s next? Discussions are ongoing around regulatory frameworks for the projects, their financing, and execution.

Caveats they might meet along the way? Financial infrastructure has emerged as a key barrier to reconstruction efforts across several countries in the region, EnterpriseAM Mena+ reported recently. Although banks’ Swift codes are now functional again in Syria and transactions are technically operable, European banks, for example, remain “very restrictive and hesitant” because of compliance criteria for dealing with Syrian banks, clients, companies, and government institutions.