According to Mu’adh Najjar, Director-General of the General Establishment for Road Transport, updates to the economic feasibility study for the North-South and East-West highways as toll roads under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) international investment system are presently in progress.
The North-South axis runs several kilometres east of the current road from the Jordanian border in the south to the Turkish border in the north. The East-West axis connects the port of Tartus to the Al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq.
Najjar announced a project to build a second branch of the international highway connecting Damascus, Palmyra, and Deir ez-Zor, highlighting that the current road is accessible. In an interview on July 3, he stated that this new branch will lower raw material transportation costs, bolster reconstruction efforts, and generate local employment opportunities.
Toll Roads: An Overview
For infrastructure projects, the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) system is an investment model. In this system, a private company finances, constructs, and manages the project for a predetermined period of time, during which it makes money and recoups its expenses.
Upon contract expiration, ownership and management transfer to the state as per the agreed terms between the parties. BOT-implemented roads are known as toll roads. For a predetermined period of time, a private business finances, builds, and runs the road while collecting tolls from users. After the contract expires, the state then receives ownership and management.
The Transformation’s Goals
According to Mu’adh Najjar, Director-General of the General Establishment for Road Transport, the axis accelerates domestic trade by connecting Damascus to the eastern regions, which are rich in mineral, oil, and agricultural resources.
Additionally, it lowers the cost of transporting raw materials, supports reconstruction efforts, provides residents of the eastern regions with direct employment opportunities, makes basic services more accessible, promotes population stability, and opens the door to the creation of new industrial and development zones along the route.
Najjar stressed that connecting these networks with high-specification roads will promote transit traffic with neighbouring countries and directly reduce vehicle operating costs and travel time, thereby lowering the final cost of the product, when discussing the impact of connecting transportation networks with neighbouring countries like Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq on local markets.
Moreover, he underscored that more supply of goods and cheaper transportation will result in price competition in the marketplaces, which will enhance citizens’ purchasing power and directly lower inflation rates.
Najjar claims that in addition to the ongoing efforts in Syria to update all laws and regulations governing investment to create a competitive environment that attracts all international companies, the institution offers all available facilities to interested companies.
Road Restoration Projects Bundle
The Syrian Ministry of Transport has launched a new package of projects to rehabilitate the central road network, including a request for local and international bids to carry out maintenance and development work on several major axes.
On June 28, Ya’rub Badr, the Syrian Minister of Transportation, and Mu’adh Najjar, the Director-General of the General Establishment for Road Transport, announced at a press conference.
The projects are part of a plan to connect provinces and border crossings with a road network that satisfies international technical standards, improve road safety, and increase the efficiency of transportation infrastructure.
M45 International Highway Rehabilitation
As one of the most significant land routes, the M45 international highway, which runs from the Bab al-Hawa border crossing on the Turkish border to the Nassib border crossing on the Jordanian border, will be rehabilitated as part of the first phase of the projects.
According to the Minister, the Nassib-Damascus, Damascus-Homs, and Homs-Aleppo roads, as well as the restoration of the Saraqib-Idlib-Bab al-Hawa link, will comprise the implementation work. This will help connect Syria to its border crossings in the north and south and enhance domestic transportation.