Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure Abdulkadir Uraloğlu announced the development of an action plan to develop Damascus International Airport.
He explained in a statement to reporters that Syria has 5 civil airports, the most important of which are Damascus and Aleppo airports.
He added that about 100,000 passengers used Damascus airport during the past year, while the number of passengers traveling through Aleppo airport reached about 50-60,000 during the same period.
He pointed out that Turkey sent a specialized team to conduct the necessary tests for Damascus and Aleppo airports, noting that there is no radar system in the two airports.
He added that the computers used in the two airports are very old, and that the airports lack the required detection and inspection devices.
He stated that there is serious erosion in the runways, and that the first flight between the two airports (after the fall of the Assad regime) was carried out entirely at the initiative of the pilots.
He added, “We have developed an action plan to develop Damascus airport in the first phase in cooperation with the General Directorate of the Turkish State Airports Authority.”
The minister stressed that Syria needs everything, confirming that Turkey intends to restore the Syrian railways.
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He added that the ministry will also work to improve the Syrian communications network, and may provide support to Syria in printing its national currency, which was previously printed in Russia.
The minister pointed out that the ports in Syria have not made any progress, although the country is considered an important gateway to the Mediterranean.
He added that we will make efforts to identify the necessary investments for Syria’s ports.
He continued, “In fact, Damascus and Syria have a long history in the field of trade, and we will do our best to revive it again.”
The minister mentioned that Turkey and Syria can sign an agreement to demarcate maritime jurisdiction areas to protect their interests.
He added, “An agreement of this kind would increase the effectiveness and efficiency of both Syria and Turkey.”
He added, “Regarding oil and hydrocarbon exploration, we will share or expand all types of jurisdiction as two countries, taking into account international law. Of course, first of all, an authority must be established in Syria.”
On December 8, 2024, Syrian factions took control of the capital Damascus, with the withdrawal of regime forces from public institutions and streets, ending 61 years of rule by the bloody Baath Party regime and 53 years of rule by the Assad family.
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The next day, the leader of the new Syrian administration, Ahmed al-Sharaa, announced that Muhammad al-Bashir, the head of the government that had been running Idlib for years, had been assigned to form a new Syrian government to manage the transitional phase.
On the other hand, Minister Uraloğlu announced that the first phase of the Iraqi Faw port would enter service in 2025 as part of the “Development Road” project.
He explained that what concerns Turkey is the 1,200 km long highway of the project.
He added, “We can say that the project has been completed to some extent, and the ongoing negotiations between the central government and local authorities regarding the place where it will pass in northern Iraq remain, and we are following up on the matter.”
He continued, “We in Turkey are planning what we need to do regarding railways and highways within the framework of the project.”
He pointed out that about 2,092 kilometers of railways will pass through Turkey, and 1,900 kilometers of highway will also pass through Turkey.
The “Development Road” project is a land and railway road extending from Iraq to Turkey and its ports, with a length of 1,200 kilometers inside Iraq and aims to transport goods between Europe and the Gulf countries.
On April 22, Turkey, Iraq, Qatar and the UAE signed a quadripartite memorandum of understanding in Baghdad for cooperation in the “Development Road” project under the auspices of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani.
