Türkiye vowed to extend support in rebuilding Syria following the fall of the regime of Bashar Assad, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Wednesday.
Addressing lawmakers from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Parliament, Erdoğan said Ankara will offer all-encompassing support to Syria’s new administration as the country rebuilds.
His remarks followed the comments by energy and transportation ministers, who in recent days announced action plans, including a Syria visit by an Energy Ministry delegation and assisting the country in restoring key infrastructure including airports and railways.
Syria needs everything to start a new beginning, Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Abdulkadir Uraloğlu said on Tuesday, adding that Türkiye has prepared an action plan for repairing and rebuilding the war-torn country’s airports, bridges, roads and railways.
Türkiye is expected to play a pivotal role in rebuilding Syria’s economy following the fall of the Assad regime earlier this month, experts opined, while representatives of some Turkish sectors anticipate they could leverage their expertise and contribute to employment and production in the war-torn country.
In line with this, Turkish authorities have also signaled readiness for involvement in reconstruction, including in energy and key infrastructure in its southern neighbor, deprived by years of conflict.
Türkiye has recently reopened its embassy in Damascus and its intelligence chief and foreign minister have met with Syria’s new de-facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa recently.
Airports
Syria has five airports, two of which have recently become operational, Damascus and Aleppo, Uraloğlu said at a news conference in Ankara, noting that the airports still require significant improvements.
Damascus Airport handled approximately 100,000 trips last year, while Aleppo managed between 50,000 and 60,000, Uraloğlu said on Tuesday, adding that a Turkish team checked airports and discovered that there is no radar system.
“There is an air radar application that we use on our mobile phones. Imagine, they were trying to manage it from that mobile phone application,” he said.
Computers from the 1990s are still used at these airports, and there are no proper X-ray devices, detectors or anything else, he explained.
He added that the runways are seriously aging and that the first flight to Damascus and Aleppo was entirely on the pilots’ initiative, in other words, without any system and under visual conditions.
“So our friends made a determination, and then we have put forward an action plan,” he said.
The minister said Türkiye will take action to revive Damascus Airport in the first phase.
“There are parts of the railways that go from Türkiye to Hejaz; they have not been operated for a long time. We will quickly identify them and take a position to ensure the integrity of the railroad up to Damascus in the first place,” he said.
Hejaz Railway
“We sent passenger trains there in 2009-2010. There is infrastructure there, but only in certain regions,” the minister said.
The approximately 1,750-kilometer (1,085-mile) Hejaz Railway was built by Ottoman Sultan Abdulhamid II to connect Istanbul, Mecca, Medina, Yemen and Damascus. It began operating in 1908.
The railway, which contributed to the region’s development, was built for religious, military and political purposes.
The line had been providing Hajj pilgrims with a safe route.
M4, M5 highways
Pointing to counterterrorism operations, he said, “Whether in the internal dynamics in Syria, the M4 and the M5 highways have always been discussed.”
“In other words, a highway can have such an impact on the politics of a country.”
Türkiye is dealing with these roads, but Ankara has already done a lot of work, particularly on highways, the minister said.
The M4 highway connects the capital, Damascus, and Aleppo, while the M5 highway links the Mediterranean city of Latakia to Aleppo.
