Two Economists: Tartus Shipyard Agreement with Turkish Firm Marks Entry into Maritime Industry

The Agreement and Its Parties

Syria's General Authority for Ports and Customs signed an agreement on 15 January with Turkish company DENİZCİLİK SANAYİ VE TİCARET to establish an integrated shipyard at Tartus port under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. The agreement obliges the Turkish company to inject no less than 190 million dollars over five years to equip quays, machinery, warehouses, and operational facilities, with no financial obligation placed on the Authority.

Employment and Training Conditions

The agreement stipulates that Syrian labour must constitute no less than 95 percent of the workforce. The project is expected to generate approximately 1,700 direct jobs and 3,500 indirect jobs. It also includes training and qualification programmes for national personnel alongside technology transfer. Syrian government vessels are granted a 20 percent discount on the total pre-tax invoice value for construction, repair, and maintenance works.

Economic Gains

Economic journalist Mokhtar Al-Ibrahim stated to SANA that the project has the capacity to generate foreign currency by attracting foreign vessels to carry out maintenance and repair at Tartus port, effectively exporting maritime services from within Syria. He added that conducting maintenance on Syrian vessels domestically reduces the need to use external shipyards and pay costs in foreign currency, producing two economic benefits: foreign currency inflows from foreign vessels and foreign currency savings from local maintenance.

Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics in Quneitra, Bashir Al-Daas, stated that the transport sector would shift from being a mere cargo receiver to becoming an industrial, developmental, and logistics hub, stimulating integrated transport chains towards Gulf states and improving cargo handling efficiency.

Linked Industries and Supply Chains

Al-Ibrahim noted that shipbuilding and repair is linked to a broad chain of sectors, including:

• Metals, electrical, mechanical, and electronics industries
• Logistics, insurance, and transport services
• Engineering firms, contractors, and spare-parts suppliers
• Vocational training services

He stated that if the project attracts foreign vessels, localises expertise, employs more than 5,000 people, and builds a domestic supply chain, it would create an entirely new economic sector rather than simply expanding an existing port.

Implementation Challenges and Regional Competition

Al-Ibrahim stated that the project's success requires adherence to the agreed timeline, training of national personnel to international standards, and securing infrastructure, energy, and supply-chain requirements. He emphasised that the shipyard must compete with facilities in Turkey, Greece, and eastern Mediterranean countries on price, quality, and turnaround speed, and that real viability will be measured by occupancy rates, the number of vessels received annually, and average maintenance contract values. Al-Daas stated that the construction and operation period requires maintaining a balance between investor rights and the interests of the state.