The General Authority of Land and Sea Border Crossings announced the resumption of operations at the free zone of Damascus International Airport after a 14–year suspension, receiving its first commercial shipment and marking “the beginning of a new phase of investment and trade.”
Economic experts described the step as a positive indicator for stimulating trade, reactivating free zones as engines of economic growth, attracting investment, and strengthening Syria’s position as a regional center for transport and logistics, according to a post by the Authority on Facebook on October 26.
A platform for regional and international expansion
Restarting the airport free zone is a strategic step that will energize domestic and foreign trade and increase government revenues through customs duties and taxes on commercial activity, said Dr. Abdulrahman Mohammed, an economics professor at Hama University.
He added that bringing the free zone back online will facilitate exports and imports by reducing logistics costs and shipping times, making Syrian products more competitive in regional and international markets and expanding opportunities for Syrian exports, especially in agriculture and industry.
The zone will also create new jobs, said Dr. Majdi al-Jamous, an economics professor at Damascus University, who believes the free zone can serve as a magnet for investment that contributes to economic recovery amid the difficult conditions inherited from the former regime.
Al-Jamous noted that the free zone provides a favorable environment for the storage and re-export of goods, which boosts trade flows and increases Syria’s export volume. The most important feature, he said, is easier access for goods to global markets while benefiting from the tax and customs incentives the zone offers.
The Authority has opened registration for investment opportunities in free zones inside Syria. In a statement on April 24, it said applications are available for the following free zones: Damascus, Damascus International Airport, Adra (Rif Dimashq province, near Damascus), Hassia (Homs province, central Syria), Aleppo (al-Muslimiyah), the internal free zone in Latakia (western Syria), and the port free zones in Latakia and Tartus (both on Syria’s Mediterranean coast).
Strengthening Syria’s role as a regional hub
Activating the airport free zone enhances Syria’s strategic geographic role as a link between Asia, Europe, and Africa, Dr. Abdulrahman Mohammed told Enab Baladi.
He believes Syria can become a regional center for transport and logistics, helping facilitate the movement of goods between different parts of the world, especially given its proximity to seaports and land borders. Incentives such as tax and customs exemptions, together with improved infrastructure and logistics services, make the zone attractive to local and international investors, he added.
Dr. Majdi al-Jamous said reactivating the zone will bring Syria closer to neighboring countries and secure a strategic place in global supply chains. The free zone could serve as a transit waypoint for goods to Gulf states and Türkiye, enhancing Syria’s standing in regional and international trade. Simplified legal and regulatory frameworks and easier capital transfers and profit repatriation should further increase foreign investor interest, he said.
A regional junction
According to Dr. Abdulrahman Mohammed, the free zone’s activation will bolster economic cooperation with neighbors such as Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, and Türkiye by establishing a regional transit hub that helps move goods among these countries and lowers transport costs. Re-exporting goods from Syria to Gulf states and Türkiye will be easier and cheaper, he said, strengthening intra-regional trade.
The airport free zone can facilitate trade and improve transport networks among neighboring countries, opening new avenues for economic cooperation. Syria can leverage its strategic location to become a junction between European and Gulf markets, Dr. al-Jamous added.
Investing in free zones
The Authority announced a strategic memorandum of understanding with China’s Fidi Contracting to develop free zones in Syria covering more than 1 million square meters. According to its May 22 statement, the MoU grants the company the right to invest in the entire Hassia free zone (Homs province, central Syria), about 850,000 square meters, to establish an integrated industrial area with specialized factories and production facilities. It also grants Fidi 300,000 square meters in the Adra free zone (Rif Dimashq province, near Damascus) for commercial and service projects aligned with local and regional market needs.
The contract period is 20 years. The Chinese company must execute project phases on a fixed timetable to ensure economic viability and strengthen the role of free zones as engines of development and magnets for foreign direct investment, the Authority said. Such investments will improve free-zone infrastructure and expand industrial and commercial activity, reinforcing Syria’s position as a regional transport and logistics hub.
On August 22, Türkiye’s Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloğlu, said Turkish companies had won a tender to renovate and expand Damascus International Airport.
