Rebuilding Syria

Good news is that a significant amount of cement production has returned and is returning, with the rehabilitation of more cement facilities, launch of new cement conpanies, and the industry sector recovering at large.

The return of cement production is very crucial to construction and reconstruction of Syria. This has been one of the main issues, the lack of and high price of cement, for the partial paralyzation of the construction industry in the past years.

Ministry of Industry, Muhammad Maan Zain Al-Abidin, assured that these projects are part of the ministry’s plan to rehabilitate industrial facilities and production lines, and return them to work.

The first hall of Tishreen cotton gin facility was launched w/ a production power of 200 tons/day. The facility separates the cotton threads from the seeds. This forms 30% cotton & 60% of raw material for oil companies. The second hall of the facility has also been rehabilitated.

The project comes in coordination with the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and the High Commissioner for Refugees.

• The streets of Dalal Al-Nashwati • Maysaloun from Bab Tadmor roundabout towards Al-Zahraa neighbourhood stretching to street 60.

The main axes of the city that the project will cover: • Hamah Road from the old clock tower to the old garage roundabout • The western corniche street from the Canadian Hospital to the old garage roundabout • Ibrahim Yazigi Street in Bab Sebaa’ neighbourhood And:

The lawsuit has been postponed to January 12, 2020.

The preferred supply of agricultural products from Syria to Russia will also be discussed, such as olives, olive oil and citrus fruits.

Earlier this year, Russia and Syria signed an agreement to lease the port of Tartous to Russia for a period of 49 years, in exchange of investing $500 million to expand the port, & perhaps other investments. Russian company Stroytransgaz will operate, manage and expand the port.

With this said, please do not generalize the districts. When I went to Barzeh Al-Balad this year with a Druze necklace, no one even batted an eye to that and were very friendly.

Now things are returning back to normal after the rebels surrendered in 2017, and hopefully the bad blood between the two neighbourhoods during the war becomes nothing but history.

Prior the war, Barzeh Al-Balad and Eish Al-Warwar coexisted peacefully. There were Alawite and Christian families living in Barzeh Al-Balad. After the war however, the rebels would kidnap/kill people from Eish Al-Warwar & people from Eish Al-Warwar would do the same for revenge.

During the war, Eish Al-Warwar and Masaken Barzeh were held continuously by the government, while Barzeh Al-Balad, along with neighbouring Qaboun district, fell in the hands of the rebels.

Eish Al-Warwar and Barzeh Al-Balad lie right on the edge of Damascus, on the mountains. They both lack infrastructure with informal housing, yet are very different. Eish Al-Warwar is a predominantly Alawite slum, while Barzeh Al-Balad is a predominatly Sunni.

The construction of that school in the mountains will certainly pave the way for infrastructure in the area, with roads, cleaner areas, and so on. A little background info on Barzeh:

Much of Barzeh Al-Balad lies on the mountains with informal housing, which has resulted in a lack of infrastructure. However, I noted this summer that Barzeh Al-Balad is getting its first school built on the mountains. There are many schools near Barzeh Al-Balad, but none in it.

I went to Barzeh Al-Balad last year and this year. The difference was remarkable. I noted several houses that had been rebuilt, other being rebuilt, other completely destroyed houses that had been removed & created green spaces. Apartments that saw fire no longer looked black.

This mosque is perhaps the most important mosque in Barzeh Al-Balad and the best known one.

The wells were completed in a span of 15 days to meet the growing demands for gas, and the big increase in the load of the electrical network.

Recently, an executive program was agreed upon with Iran after a Syrian delegation visited Tehran. One of the points in it was to present the Syrian side with a list of priority projects to be implemented, including a project to build 30 000 housing units in the governorates.

Deputy Minister of Public Works and Housing, Mazen Al-Lahham, revealed that the files of 26 real estate development areas have been prepared for implementation as residential suburbs at a national level.

He also added that the marble has been replaced in the rooms, and the foyer of the ground floor. Wood carpentry is being installed for the doors & windows, and painting of the walls has started. The museum garden has been cleaned, in preparation to later be rehabilitated.

To read more about the process to develop the scheme for Qaboun, please check this thread. Note that the thread below covers only the industrial zone of Qaboun, not all of the district. https://twitter.com/syriarebuilt/status/1202939234040139782?s=21 …https://twitter.com/SyriaRebuilt/status/1202939234040139782…