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A consortium of Turkish, Qatari, and American firms signed a $4 billion agreement on Thursday with the Syrian Finance Ministry and the Syrian Civil Aviation General Authority to modernize and expand Damascus International Airport.
The modernization effort will include the rehabilitation of existing terminals, construction of new ones, and significant infrastructure upgrades aimed at boosting annual passenger capacity from current levels to over 31 million within ten years.
Turkish contractors Kalyon Construction and Cengiz Construction will take part in the four-phase redevelopment alongside Qatar’s UCC Holding and U.S.-based Assets Investments. The initial stage will complete Terminals 1 and 2 by the end of 2026 to accommodate 6 million passengers, while the commissioning of Terminal 3 will raise the capacity to 13 million.
Upon full completion, the airport’s total capacity will reach 31 million.
The project is expected to create more than 90,000 direct and indirect jobs over its development timeline. It will also include $250 million in aircraft financing to upgrade Syria’s fleet and expand international route capacity.
Damascus International Airport is Syria’s main international gateway, located approximately 30 kilometers southeast of the capital. The airport features two parallel runways, each about 3,600 meters long, capable of accommodating wide-body and long-haul aircraft.
Before the recent redevelopment efforts, the airport comprised two primary passenger terminals—one for international flights and the other for domestic services.
Historically, Damascus International Airport handled around 4.5 million passengers annually. However, traffic and operations declined over the past decade due to the civil war and international sanctions.
In the first nine months of 2025, Türkiye’s international contracting sector expanded its global footprint with 128 overseas projects valued at $9.2 billion, led by Romania and Iraq with $4 billion and $1 billion in contracts, respectively.
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