The Syrian government is set to sign an agreement on Thursday with four companies to add 5,000 megawatts to its electrical grid, a move that could potentially double the country’s power supply after more than 10 years of crippling shortages caused by conflict.
State-supplied electricity is available in Syria for only two or three hours a day in most areas, and the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa has pledged to quickly ramp up the power supply in the country.
The deal launching the Syria Power Revival Initiative will be signed at the Syrian presidential palace on Thursday, according to a media invitation from Qatar's UCC Holding, whose unit UCC Concession Investments will be the lead developer on the project.
The deal will also involve Kalyon GES Enerji Yatırımları and Cengiz Enerji from Türkiye and Power International USA, according to the invitation.
Energy and construction company UCC Holding – whose chairperson is Syrian-Qatari entrepreneur Moutaz Al-Khayyat and whose president and CEO is his brother, Ramez Al-Khayyat – did not immediately respond to a request for further comment.
The project will expand the grid through the development of gas turbines and solar plants.
Fourteen years of war have destroyed much of Syria's electricity infrastructure, which the U.N. estimates will require billions of dollars to repair.
Damascus used to receive the bulk of its oil for power generation from Iran, but supplies have been cut off since the ouster of longtime dictator Bashar Assad in December.
Qatar, a major producer of liquefied natural gas, has been providing Damascus's main power generation plant with gas since March as a stopgap measure.
