The Damascus International Airport project is a large-scale redevelopment and expansion program worth about 4 billion USD.

It aims to:

• Completely modernize the existing airport (terminals, runways, systems).

• Build a new passenger terminal in phases.

• Transform the airport into a regional hub with capacity up to 31 million passengers per year once all phases are complete.

This project is one of 12 major infrastructure deals totaling 14 billion USD signed after the political change, covering airports, metro, telecom, and energy.

The redevelopment is awarded as a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) concession to a multinational consortium led by UCC Holding / UrbaCon Concessions of Qatar, with Turkish and United States partners:

• UrbaCon Trading and Contracting / UCC Holding (Qatar) - consortium leader, lead developer and main investor.

• Kalyon Insaat (Turkey) - partner, major Turkish infrastructure contractor.

• Cengiz Insaat (Turkey) - partner, another large Turkish construction firm with airport experience.

• Assets Investments (United States) - partner for financing and operations.

Components

1. Refurbishment of Existing Terminals (T1 and T2)

• Full renovation of Terminal 1 and Terminal 2: passenger halls, boarding gates, baggage systems, security, and aircraft stands.

• Installation of around 32 passenger boarding bridges and modern gate systems.

• Upgrade of air traffic management systems (navigation, communications, radar) in line with ICAO standards.

2. New Passenger Terminal, Phased Expansion

• Phase 1 adds capacity for 10 million passengers per year, bringing total airport capacity to about 16 million within roughly three years of effective construction start.
• Phase 2 and Phase 3 each add another 7.5 million passengers approximately, with a long-term target of 31 million passengers per year once all phases are complete.

Design and supervision:

• Architectural and engineering design is led by HESCO Global, with input from Zaha Hadid Architects on the terminal building.

3. Hotel and Commercial / Free Zone

• Construction of a 5-star on-airport hotel targeting transit passengers, crews, and conferences.

• Development of a commercial and duty-free zone with shops, restaurants, and services.

• UCC promotional material mentions a 46,000 m2 duty-free and commercial area, but this is only for the retail component, not the whole project footprint.

4. Logistics and Cargo Facilities

• The project includes modern cargo facilities and a logistics free zone, aiming to position Damascus as a regional freight node, though detailed technical specifications have not been fully disclosed publicly.

Capacity, Timeline, and Phasing

Current traffic

• Damascus International Airport handled 1,392,699 passengers in calendar year 2025. Monthly traffic is volatile: 148,305 passengers in May 2026 across 1,532 flights and 13 airlines, against 34,347 in April 2026, when operations were suspended and southern air corridors closed on precautionary grounds.

Targeted milestones

• Phase 1 works on existing terminals: fully refurbished T1 and T2, with capacity increased to around 6 million passengers per year.
• Medium term: the new terminal partially in service, total capacity around 16 to 17 million passengers per year.
• Long term: completed terminal with expansions, target capacity of 31 million passengers per year.

Announced capacity milestones are targets stated at the award and have not been independently verified against construction progress.

UPDATE 02.08.2026, FOUR CORRECTIONS

1. Consortium leadership. An earlier version of this entry described the concession as awarded to a consortium led by Qatar and Turkey. Every primary source describes it as led by UCC Holding / Urbacon Concessions of Qatar, with Cengiz Insaat and Kalyon Insaat of Turkey and Assets Investments of the United States as partners. The corrected attribution is confirmed by SANA (24 November 2025), UCC Holding's own release of the same date, ENR and the legal advisers to the transaction.

2. Current passenger baseline. The figure of half a million passengers a year, presented as the airport's current state, is contradicted by published traffic data. Damascus International Airport handled 1,392,699 passengers in calendar year 2025, and 148,305 in May 2026 alone across 1,532 flights and 13 airlines. The half-million figure should not be relied on.

3. Site area. The area field previously recorded 23 million square metres. No reachable source states a site area for the project, including UCC Holding's own project release, so the field has been cleared rather than left carrying an unsupported number.

4. Project status. The project is under construction in phase one, centred on a new Terminal 2 building. SANA reported on 14 and 15 April 2026 that phase one, described as the most difficult, had been completed, including removal of the former Hajj terminal to make way for the new building.

Operational context. Traffic at the airport is volatile and does not follow a smooth line. Operations were suspended and southern air corridors closed on precautionary grounds in April 2026 and again in early June 2026, with April 2026 traffic falling to 34,347 passengers.

Land position. No reachable source establishes whether the concession requires any land acquisition outside the existing airport perimeter, or whether a compensation framework exists. Separately, historical expropriation claims relating to the land on which the airport was originally built, and a documented uncompensated demolition in Harran al-Awamid near the airport in 2013, are matters of record in earlier reporting and are not addressed by any published document on this concession. This is recorded as an open question and not as a cleared position.

UPDATE : 06.05.2026

On Sunday, May 3, 2026, the Director General of the Civil Aviation Authority, Omar Al-Hussari, conducted an inspection tour of Damascus International Airport to oversee infrastructure development projects and capacity expansion efforts. These ongoing works are part of a strategic agreement with an international consortium led by UCC, aimed at modernizing the airport in accordance with the latest global standards and technical criteria. During the visit, accompanied by senior deputies and department heads, Al-Hussari reviewed completion rates and implementation schedules to ensure the project aligns with the comprehensive vision of restoring Syria’s role as a pivotal hub in regional and international aviation. Consequently, the Authority has advised travelers to plan their trips in advance and arrive early at the airport to avoid potential traffic congestion or delays caused by the ongoing rehabilitation activities.