Saudi Arabia will invest in a new private Syrian airline as part of a multi-billion-dollar investment package expected to be announced on Saturday, the head of the Syrian Investment Authority told Reuters, reflecting Riyadh’s deepening ties to Damascus.
The latest planned investments will mark the largest such announcement since the United States lifted a tough set of sanctions on Syria in December.
The sanctions had been a significant obstacle to Syria’s economic revival after a 14-year civil war that inflicted deep damage on much of the country and displaced millions of people.
Saudi investments would include projects in “telecommunications and real estate, especially in the old towns,” said the investment authority head, Talal al-Hilali, speaking to Reuters on Tuesday.
Al-Hilali said that the majority of the planned investments would take the form of ready-to-implement contracts, rather than non-binding memoranda of understanding. He declined to give a value for the investments.
Riyadh has emerged as a close ally of Damascus since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad some 14 months ago. Last year, Riyadh announced $6.4 billion of investments, split into 47 deals with more than 100 Saudi companies working in real estate, infrastructure and telecoms.
Two Syrian sources familiar with the matter said aviation investments would include contracts to develop Aleppo International Airport. The sources said the new private airline is expected to launch with more than a dozen aircraft.
Al-Arabiya, Reuters
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