Syria signs contract with CMA CGM to operate Latakia port for 30 years

The general manager of CMA CGM Levant, Joseph Dakkak, confirmed Thursday to L'Orient-Le Jour the signing of a contract between Syria and the French company to develop and operate the port of Latakia for 30 years.

“CMA CGM has officially signed the contract for the concession of the container terminal at the port of Latakia for a period of 30 years. CMA CGM is committed to modernizing and developing the terminal to meet the growing demand of Syrian importers and exporters and strengthen the region's supply chains,” said Dakkak, general manager of CMA CGM Levant.

AFP also reported the information, citing Dakkak and the port director. According to the official Syrian news agency Sana, the contract was signed at the presidential palace in Damascus, in the presence of interim Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa, between the General Authority of Land and Maritime Ports and the French company. Port director Ahmed Moustafa told AFP that the contract provides for an investment of 230 million euros: “The first year, 30 million euros will be injected, then over the following four years, a new quay will be built for a total amount of about 200 million euros.” He emphasized that “this is the first investment contract with an international company in Syria” since the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The new quay, to be built at the container terminal of the port, will meet “strict international standards, with a length of 1.5 kilometers and a depth of 17 meters,” Moustafa specified. This infrastructure will allow “the entry of large ships that currently cannot access the port of Latakia,” he continued.

As for the operating revenue of the port, Moustafa indicated that it would first be shared between CMA CGM and the Syrian state, 60 percent for the state and 40 percent for the French company. CMA CGM had already been operating the container terminal of the port since 2009 under a former contract that had been renewed several times before resulting in this long-term agreement, the port director specified.