Overview

Al-Naser Boulevard is an urban redevelopment project in Homs, presented by its developers as the first major urban project in the city following the change of the former regime. It is located on land extending between the Al-Qarabis neighborhood, the wholesale market (Souq al-Hal), the dyehouses (al-Masabegh), and Al-Nasr Park.

The project is multi-purpose, combining residential, commercial, and recreational uses around a large public park.

Project Definition

The project is described as an integrated real-estate and urban development scheme in central Homs, positioned by its developers as a starting point for rebuilding in the city. It aims to transform the area between the dyehouses, Souq al-Hal, Al-Qarabis, and Al-Nasr Park into an urban district that includes housing, commercial facilities, a large public park, and a new wholesale market.

A slogan associated with the project, "Al-Nasr Boulevard, hand in hand, we rebuild it together," has been displayed on billboards in Homs.

Location and Area

Location

The site is in central Homs, on the bank of the Orontes River. It lies between the Al-Qarabis neighborhood and its orchards to one side, and the dyehouses, Souq al-Hal, and Al-Nasr Park to the other.

Area

The project covers several components:

• A public park of about 350,000 m2, including green areas, water features, and playgrounds.
• Additional land for residential and commercial construction, totaling several hundred thousand further square meters. No precise total area has been published.

Descriptive Map

The project extends from the Corniche and Asi al-Maymas to the west, passing through the Al-Qarabis orchards, and reaching the dyehouses, the wholesale market, and Al-Nasr Park to the east and north.

Main Components

Housing Units

• Construction of around 4,500 housing units.
• Part of the units are allocated to low-income families and families of martyrs.

Public Park and Green Space

• Rehabilitation and expansion of Al-Nasr Park into a public park of about 350,000 m2.
• Planned features include green areas, water features, playgrounds, and pedestrian paths.

Commercial and Investment Facilities

• Construction of commercial and investment buildings, shops, and offices.
• The stated goal is to support economic activity in the area.

New Wholesale Market (Souq al-Hal)

• Relocation of the old wholesale market.
• Replacement with a new central wholesale market on the city's outskirts, described by officials as built to international standards.
• The boulevard is to be linked to this new commercial hub.

New Infrastructure

• Upgrading of road networks, sewage systems, and water and electricity networks.
• Creation of main streets and service facilities.

Cost, Timeline, and Jobs

• Implementation period: about seven years from the start of works.
• Official figures cite around 4,500 new housing units.
• Official figures cite approximately 15,000 direct and indirect job opportunities during construction and operation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Al-Naser Boulevard located?

The project is in central Homs, on the bank of the Orontes River, between the Al-Qarabis neighborhood and its orchards on one side and the dyehouses, Souq al-Hal, and Al-Nasr Park on the other.

How many housing units does the project include?

The project includes around 4,500 housing units, part of which are allocated to low-income families and families of martyrs.

How large is the public park?

The public park covers about 350,000 m2 and is planned to include green areas, water features, playgrounds, and pedestrian paths.

How long is the implementation period?

The stated implementation period is about seven years from the start of works, with official figures citing approximately 15,000 direct and indirect job opportunities during construction and operation.

UPDATE 02.08.2026, SCOPE CORRECTION

The Al-Qarabis neighbourhood is no longer part of this project. On 17 August 2025 the developer, Al-Omran Real Estate Development and Investment Company, revised the project scope and removed the Al-Qarabis neighbourhood component. The description below dates from the original August 2025 announcement and names Al-Qarabis among the project boundaries in several places. Those passages describe the scope as first announced and no longer describe the project as it stands.

Zones of the site. The site is commonly described in four zones: the Al-Qarabis neighbourhood, the Al-Qarabis orchards, al-Masabegh and Souq al-Hal. Only the neighbourhood was removed from the scope in August 2025; no reachable source confirms a change to the other zones.

Current status. Syria Report's housing, land and property unit (25 November 2025) reports that first works began in October 2025 on the revised footprint.

DEVELOPER AND TIMELINE, FROM THE OFFICIAL SOURCE

The developer, Al-Omran Real Estate Development and Investment Company, publishes the following sequence on its own website. It is recorded here because it comes from the party executing the project and it corroborates the independent reporting cited above.

• 6 August 2025. Homs Governor Dr Abdul Rahman al-Aama signed an investment memorandum of understanding with the company to implement the Al-Naser Boulevard project, in the presence of President Ahmad al-Sharaa. SANA reported the signing the following day.
• 29 August 2025. The foundation stone was laid under the patronage of President Ahmad al-Sharaa and of Eng. Rifai Hamada, chairman of the board of Al-Omran Holding, with Governor al-Aama attending. The company states that the project falls within the Dar Al-Salam package of projects in Homs Governorate, a framing that does not appear in the earlier coverage.
• 15 November 2025. The company announced the start of site works, describing three weeks of progress. That places the start in the second half of October 2025 and independently corroborates the October 2025 start reported by Syria Report's housing, land and property unit.

Al-Omran describes itself as part of the Al-Omran Holding Group, with origins in the late 1970s and more than forty years of activity, and lists completed works in Jeddah, Riyadh and Beirut alongside two projects in Homs. Its stated contact base is Homs.

Note that the company website does not address the cancellation of the Al-Qarabis component recorded in the update above, nor the expropriation history of the site.

THE MEMORANDUM TERMS, FROM HOMS GOVERNORATE

Homs Governorate published its own account on 7 August 2025. The memorandum was signed at the People's Palace in Damascus in the presence of President Ahmad al-Sharaa, by Governor Dr Abdul Rahman al-Aama for the governorate and by Eng. Rifai Hamada, chairman of the board, for Al-Omran.

What each side undertook

Al-Omran: preparing the detailed studies, executing the infrastructure works, building the residential and commercial buildings, developing Al-Nasr Park and building a new wholesale market.

The governorate: facilitating administrative procedures, providing technical data, and forming supervision and follow-up committees to keep the work within the legal and technical frameworks of the Syrian Arab Republic.

The scope named at signing covered four areas: al-Masabegh, Souq al-Hal, Al-Qarabis and Al-Nasr Park. This is the scope that the developer revised ten days later, as recorded in the scope correction above.

Compensation, as committed at signing

The governorate described compensating affected residents as one of the project's basic pillars, stating the principle that rebuilding should not come at the expense of people but in partnership with them. It undertook to form specialised technical and legal committees to assess damage, as a prelude to transparent and fair compensation mechanisms, and said residents would be involved in the assessment and planning so that rights are protected and no party is excluded.

These are the commitments recorded in the memorandum at signature.

Stated rationale and figures

The governorate gives the reasons as an acute housing shortage worsened by returning displaced residents, damaged infrastructure, the absence of any large public park inside the city, and the need to restore investor confidence. It confirms 4,500 residential units, approximately 15,000 direct and indirect jobs, and a maximum implementation period of seven years set in the memorandum itself, with execution to begin after the damage-assessment committees are formed.