DUBAI — Syria will receive two electricity-generating ships from Turkey and Qatar to boost energy supplies hit by damage to infrastructure during President Bashar al-Assad's rule, state news agency SANA quoted an official as saying on Tuesday.

Khaled Abu Dai, director general of the General Establishment for Electricity Transmission and Distribution, told SANA the ships would provide a total of 800 megawatts of electricity, "which is equivalent to half of what is being produced at the moment," he said, but did not say over what period.

"Work is ongoing to secure power lines to transport the electricity from the docking location of the two ships," AFP cited Abu Dai as saying, thought he also did not say where the lines would be set up, nor where the two ships would be received.

Syria suffers from severe power shortages, with state-supplied electricity available just two or three hours a day in most areas. The caretaker government says it aims within two months to provide electricity up to eight hours a day. In 2021, Economy Minister Samer al-Khalil said energy sector losses since 2011 amounted to around "$100 billion in direct and indirect damages."

"The extent of damage to the generation and transformation stations and electrical connection lines during the period of the former regime is very large, we are seeking to rehabilitate [them] in order to transmit energy," Abu Dai said, cited by Reuters.

The United States on Monday issued a sanctions exemption for transactions with governing institutions in Syria for six months after the end of Assad's rule to try to increase the flow of humanitarian assistance. According to AFP, the exemptions are specifically for fuel and electricity donations and allows some energy transactions and personal remittances to Syria until July 7. The action did not remove any sanctions.

Both Qatar and Turkey, which backed the anti-Assad opposition, reopened their embassies in Damascus in the aftermath of Assad's flight to Moscow. Turkey has long maintained a working relationship with the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham rebels who spearheaded the offensive against Assad, giving it a direct line to Damascus.