Qatar and Turkiye to supply Syria with electricity-generating ships

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
7 Jan 2025 12:19

The move reportedly aims to alleviate severe power shortages resulting from extensive damage to the country’s energy infrastructure.

Listen

Men work at a gas facility in Homs province, Syria, Wednesday, on November 9, 2022. (AP)

Syria is set to receive two electricity-generating ships from Turkiye and Qatar to address severe energy shortages caused by extensive infrastructure damage during President Bashar al-Assad's tenure, state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.

Khaled Abu Dai, director general of the General Establishment for Electricity Transmission and Distribution, told SANA that the ships would generate a combined 800 megawatts of electricity, but did not specify the duration of their deployment.

“The extent of damage to the generation and transformation stations and electrical connection lines during the period of the former regime is very large. We are seeking to rehabilitate (them) in order to transmit energy,” Abu Dai stated. However, he did not indicate when the ships would arrive in Syria.

Meanwhile, on Monday, the United States announced a six-month sanctions exemption for transactions with Syrian governing institutions following the end of Assad’s rule, aiming to facilitate humanitarian aid.

The exemption, effective until July 7, permits certain energy-related transactions and personal remittances to Syria, but does not lift any existing sanctions.

Syria continues to face acute power shortages, with state electricity available for only two to three hours daily in most areas. The caretaker government has pledged to increase electricity supply to up to eight hours a day within two months.

ICRC to boost Syria aid beyond $100M, focus on health, infrastructure

In a similar context, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced, on Monday, plans to significantly scale up its operations in Syria, addressing urgent needs in health, water, and electricity infrastructure.

Speaking during a visit to Syria, ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric revealed that the organization would exceed its initial $100 million allocation for 2025. "Our program originally for this year for Syria was $100 million, but we are likely to expand that significantly," she told Reuters, stressing the critical challenges faced by local communities.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Syria requires $4.07 billion in aid this year, yet only 33.1% of the needed funds have been secured. This leaves a shortfall of $2.73 billion, intensifying the need for increased international assistance.

Spoljaric noted that donor countries have already stepped up to boost contributions, enabling the ICRC to enhance its ongoing efforts. The organization has been one of the few to maintain operations in Syria during al-Assad's rule, focusing on projects such as water and power system rehabilitation. "We need to expand that work, we have a lot to do in the health sector," she added.

The ICRC has been working to restore water supply levels to 40–50% of pre-war capacity, but maintaining and protecting facilities remains a challenge. Some critical sites, including those near the Euphrates Lake, are located in areas still experiencing conflict.

Efforts to rehabilitate the country's electricity infrastructure have begun, but progress has been hindered by limited financial resources and restrictions on importing necessary equipment. "Certain spare parts need to be allowed to come in because that is also hampering the rehabilitation work at the moment. So there's a political dimension to it," Spoljaric explained.