DAMASCUS, Syria: Syria on Thursday signed a $7 billion energy agreement with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and American companies, in a bid to revitalise its crippled power sector.
The agreement was signed at the presidential palace in Damascus in the presence of interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa and US Ambassador Thomas Barrack. The deal aims to produce 5,000 megawatts of electricity.
Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir described the signing as a “historic moment” and a “turning point” for the country’s devastated infrastructure.
The consortium behind the project is led by Qatar’s UCC Concession Investments and includes Turkey’s Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari and Cengiz Enerji, as well as Power International US.
Syria’s 14-year civil war damaged its power grid, leaving people with up to 20 hours of daily blackouts.
Under the project, four gas-powered plants in central and eastern Syria and a 1,000-megawatt solar farm in the south. Bashir said the plants would use US and European technology.
Barrack stated that US President Donald Trump had lifted sanctions on Syria without conditions and pledged continued support.
According to Barrack, Trump expressed his “unceasing commitment” to transforming regional borders into “a tapestry of commerce and cooperation.”
Ramez al-Khayyat, CEO of UCC, highlighted that the agreement is expected to create over 50,000 direct jobs and an additional 250,000 indirect employment opportunities.
Meanwhile, Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar announced last week that Turkey would begin supplying Syria with two billion cubic meters of natural gas annually—enough to generate approximately 1,300 megawatts of electricity.
Syria has ramped up efforts to lure investment after the United States and European Union said they would lift sanctions.
In March, Qatar started funding gas supplies to Syria via Jordan to help ease power shortages.
