The new Syrian government has cancelled a contractual agreement
49-year agreement stipulated in 2019 with the company
Stroytransgaz for the management of the port of Tartous, which
included investments of $500 million for
the modernization of the Syrian port of call that in recent years
For decades it has been the main maritime base in the Mediterranean
of the Russian military fleet. The goal was, also thanks to
the expansion of the northern part of the port and the
construction of new infrastructure, to increase the capacity of the
of airport traffic from four to 38 million tons
per year, making it suitable for the stopover of large merchant ships.
The cancellation of the agreement was announced by the
Syrian newspaper "Al-Watan Online" which, referring to
statements made by the Director of Customs of Tartous,
specified that the activity of the port was almost
paralysed due to very high standards and tariffs of services
while the Syrian transitional government is working to
restore the normal course of port activities. The
customs officer specified that currently the taxes
have been reduced by 60% compared to the
while duties were maintained to safeguard
local production. Referring to the agreement with the Russian company,
The official said that the company used the
port infrastructures and facilities without, however, proceeding
the planned modernization of the airport.