Saudi company to invest up to $300m in Syria tourism project

Saudi Arabia’s Ezdihar Holding has struck a 50-year joint venture deal with the government of Syria to build a tourism-led development facing the Barada River in Damascus.

The Riyadh-based company will invest between $250 million and $300 million in the residential, commercial and leisure development, as part of Syria’s public-private partnership programme.

Construction is set for completion within four years, the country’s tourism ministry said in a statement.

The development, which is named The Beaumont, will have two towers: one will house a 150-room five-star hotel and the other will provide 26 floors of apartments.

A shopping centre, an outdoor promenade with cafes and restaurants, and a 10-storey business centre are also planned.

The project is set to generate 1,500-2,500 direct jobs and more than 3,000 indirect positions.

“Projects of this scale stimulate economic growth, attract high-quality investment, create sustainable jobs and reinforce confidence in Syria’s future,” said tourism minister Mazen Al Salhani. 

Last September, Syria signed investment contracts worth $1.5 billion in an effort to revive its tourism sector after years of war. A month earlier it agreed 12 deals worth $14 billion.

In July, President Donald Trump lifted US sanctions on Syria, a move likely to ease access to global funding.

Syria is also revaluing its currency as it emerges from civil war. The Syrian pound lost more than 99 percent of its value between 2011, when the conflict broke out, and 2024.

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