Syria’s reconstruction bill: $216 billion — a new international report maps the sectors and the projects
A new international report puts Syria's reconstruction cost at $216 billion: $81.7 billion for infrastructure, $74.5 billion for housing and $59.3 billion for commercial and industrial buildings — and separates announced deals from projects actually under implementation.
A new international report has put the cost of rebuilding Syria at $216 billion, breaking the total down across infrastructure, housing and commercial and industrial buildings in the most detailed numerical map yet of the work awaiting the construction and investment sector.
The report, “Rebuilding Syria: Syria’s Reconstruction – Challenges and Opportunities”, was published in 2026 by The Syria Report in cooperation with the Friedrich Naumann Foundation. It covers developments through August 2026 and bases its cost figures on World Bank estimates.
Where the cost is concentrated
The report divides reconstruction needs into three main sectors:
- Infrastructure: $81.7 billion — covering electricity, transport, water and essential networks
- Residential buildings: $74.5 billion
- Non-residential buildings: $59.3 billion — commercial, industrial and public facilities
Direct physical damage to assets is estimated at around $108 billion, and the governorates of Aleppo, Rural Damascus and Homs are the most severely affected, accounting for a substantial share of reconstruction needs.
The damage in numbers
- 1.32 million housing units damaged or destroyed — 31% of the country’s housing stock
- 328,000 of those units are uninhabitable
- 70% of power generation plants and transmission lines damaged
- Around 30% of schools non-functional or only partially functional
Signs of recovery are emerging
Despite the scale of destruction, the report records rising activity in the construction sector:
- Cement production reached 4.07 million tonnes in the first half of 2026, approaching pre-conflict levels
- 238 construction-related companies were established in 2025, and a further 141 in the first half of 2026, according to Official Gazette records
Announced versus under implementation
The report reviews the headline international investments in infrastructure and real estate:
- Qatar’s UCC Holding: a $7 billion agreement for 8 power plants with 5,000 MW of combined capacity, and a $4 billion agreement to develop Damascus International Airport
- The UAE’s DP World: an $800 million agreement to modernize and operate infrastructure at Tartous Port
- Saudi Arabia’s Elaf Fund: a $2 billion agreement to develop, upgrade and operate Aleppo International Airport
- Italy’s UBAKO: a $2 billion memorandum of understanding for 60 residential towers in Damascus
- Saudi Arabia’s Abyat: two residential developments in Damascus at $1 billion and $200 million
- Iraq’s Vertex Investment Group: a $300 million memorandum of understanding to rehabilitate the Hama Cement Plant
The report stresses, however, that announced investment values are not the same as construction activity on the ground: of all these projects, only UCC’s power plants and DP World’s Tartous Port upgrade have actually entered implementation, while the rest remain between signed agreements and memoranda of understanding.
Financing is the biggest challenge
According to the report, the World Bank’s Syria portfolio had reached approximately $931 million by August 2026 — five approved grant projects and three more in preparation — a figure that remains far below the estimated need.
The report lists the main obstacles to turning announcements into projects: limited public funding, banking restrictions, shortages of skilled labour and its rising cost, and the absence of a unified national reconstruction framework.
What it means for the market
The report concludes that Syria is a long-term market for contractors, residential developers, infrastructure rehabilitation firms, cement and building-materials producers, engineering services and renewable energy companies — and that how fast the opportunities become real projects will depend on financing, institutional reforms and investor confidence.
CIP — Construction & Investment Prime — tracks announced projects and their implementation status on its project radar.
Prepared by: Construction & Investment Prime (CIP)
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