Saudi Arabia to help build airports in Syria

• Two airports to be built in Aleppo
• Budget airline will also be launched
• Kingdom invests in telecoms project

Saudi Arabia has said it will invest billions of dollars in developing new airports in Syria.

Saudi-listed Flynas and the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority have also signed an agreement to launch a budget airline that will be based in Syria.

Flynas will hold a 49 percent stake in Flynas Syria, with the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority owning the rest, the airline said in a statement to the Saudi stock exchange on Sunday.

All required licensing, regulatory approvals and operational formalities are being finalised.

No financial details were given, nor was it mentioned when the airline will start operations.

Saudi Arabia has committed SAR7.5 billion ($2 billion) to developing two airports in Aleppo, Saudi investment minister Khalid Al Falih said.

The Elaf Fund, an investment vehicle launched to finance large-scale projects in Syria, will help finance the projects with participation from Saudi private sector investors, Falih added.

In September Damascus signed investment contracts worth $1.5 billion to revive its war-torn tourism sector.

Further reading:

• Saudi Arabia to announce major new Syria investments
• $6.4bn of Saudi investment raises hopes for Syria’s recovery
• Saudi companies to back Syria’s oil exploration drive

Meanwhile, Saudi Telecom Company (STC) has won a SAR3 billion contract from the Syrian Sovereign Fund to implement a telecoms infrastructure project called Silklink.

Silklink will connect Syria regionally and internationally with a 4,500km fibre-optic network, the company said in a Saudi bourse filing. The project also includes the development of data centres and international submarine cable landing stations. 

STC will hold a 75 percent stake and the Syrian fund 25 percent.

Other agreements include a joint development pact with Acwa Power and the state-run Saudi Water Transmission Company on developing water projects.

“We have drawn up plans to establish a seawater desalination plant, with the aim of delivering fresh water from the Syrian coast to the south of the country,” Syria’s energy minister Mohamed Al Bashir said.

Last July Riyadh announced $6.4 billion in investments in Syria, spread across 47 deals involving more than 100 Saudi companies working in real estate, infrastructure and telecoms.