A view of the city of Aleppo, in Syria. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Syria’s energy ministry finalized agreements on Thursday with a group of foreign companies, led by Qatar’s UCC Holding, to construct four new power plants with a combined capacity of 5 gigawatts, the energy Ministry said in a statement posted on its Facebook page Thursday.
This investment move comes just weeks after the government raised electricity prices more than sixfold.
The initial $7 billion agreement was signed in May with a consortium led by UCC, which includes Turkish firms Kalyon GES Enerji Yatirimlari, Cengiz Enerji, and the U.S.-based Power International US. At the time, the deal was only a memorandum of understanding and thus nonbinding, with no further details disclosed, the energy ministry said in its statement.
"The plants will use a mix of natural gas and solar energy. The planned projects include a 1.2 GW plant in northern Aleppo, two 1 GW plants in Deir Ezzor and Zayzoun, and an 800 MW plant in Mahardah. Additionally, solar power projects totaling 1 GW will be developed across four unspecified locations," the statement noted.
Doha-based UCC is an energy, construction, and concessions firm engaged in over 1,250 projects both in Qatar and abroad. The company has also been active in Syria’s postwar rebuilding, having signed a $4 billion agreement in August to construct a new airport in Damascus.
The energy ministry described the power plant project as "one of the most significant energy initiatives in Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011."
The project aims to rehabilitate the national electricity grid, enhance "operational efficiency, and ensure stable and sustainable power supply." Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir hailed the project as "a critical step in rebuilding Syria’s energy infrastructure after 14 years of conflict."
The new authorities have taken Syria, long suffocated by international sanctions, out of political isolation and are seeking funds to rebuild the country a cost that could top $216 billion, according to the World Bank.
The civil war severely damaged the electricity infrastructure, causing outages that can last more than 20 hours per day.
After the fall of Bashar al-Assad on Dec.8, following a 50-year dictatorship by the Assa clan, Interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa's government announced major investment deals with regional countries to rebuild infrastructure.
