Syria on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding with a consortium of Qatari, Turkish and U.S. companies to develop major power generation projects with a foreign investment valued at about $7 billion.
The agreement involves building four combined-cycle gas turbine power plants with a total capacity of 4,000 megawatts, plus a 1,000-MW solar power plant in southern Syria.
The consortium is led by Qatar's UCC Holding and includes Kalyon GES Enerji Yatırımları and Cengiz Enerji from Türkiye and Power International USA.
Syrian Energy Minister Mohammad al-Bashir called the deal a "historic moment" and a "turning point" for the country's shattered infrastructure.
"This agreement marks a crucial step in Syria's infrastructure recovery plan," said al-Bashir, who signed the deal in Damascus in the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and U.S. envoy for Syria, Thomas Barrack.
Construction is expected to begin after final agreements and financial close, and is targeted to finish within three years for the gas plants and less than two years for the solar plant.
Once completed, the projects are expected to provide over 50% of Syria’s electricity needs.
After 14 years of war, Syria's electricity sector has been suffering from severe damage to its grid and power stations, aging infrastructure, and persistent fuel shortages, generating only 1.6 gigawatts of electricity, down from 9.5 GW before 2011.
Reconstructing the power sector is expected to cost around $11 billion and the new administration is betting on the private sector shouldering the burden, underlining a shift from the policies of the Bashar Assad regime.
Barrack said U.S. President Donald Trump had lifted sanctions on Syria unconditionally and pledged ongoing support.
Trump, he said, offered Syria his "unceasing commitment" to turn borders "into a tapestry of commerce and cooperation."
The projects will be financed through regional and international banks, in addition to capital injection from the partners, UCC Holding CEO Ramez Al Khayyat said.
They are expected to create 50,000 direct and 250,000 indirect jobs during execution, the UCC Holding CEO said.
Doha, one of the region's sternest opponents of the Assad regime and backers of the new rulers who replaced him, is now positioning itself to play a major role in Syria's reconstruction, along with Türkiye.
Last week, Turkish Energy and Natural Resources Minister Alparslan Bayraktar said his country would begin supplying Syria with 2 billion cubic meters of gas a year – enough to generate 1,300 megawatts.
Syria has ramped up efforts to lure investment after the United States and European Union said they would lift sanctions.
Damascus used to receive the bulk of its oil for power generation from Iran, but supplies have been cut off since the ouster of 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.
