Qatari Firm Begins Work on New Damascus Airport Terminal and Other Syrian Projects

Power International Holding has started construction on a new terminal at Damascus airport, with the exterior largely complete, Semafor reported. The terminal is designed to handle 31 million passengers a year. The Qatari conglomerate is providing $250 million in financing for Syrian Airlines to acquire up to 10 Airbus A320 aircraft, according to Chairman and Group CEO Ramez Al-Khayyat.

Syrian Airlines currently operates only a handful of aircraft. Syria needs roughly 10,000 megawatts of electricity but has only around 5,000 megawatts available on the grid, Al-Khayyat said. All 5,000 megawatts currently available are under construction.

The company is bidding for a telecoms license in Syria alongside Ooredoo and has invested in local banks. It is also pursuing a proposed $3.3 billion initiative to revive Syria's cotton industry as part of a broader agricultural strategy that could create 200,000 jobs.

Power International Holding has won agriculture, aviation, energy, and tourism projects in Syria since the toppling of the Assad regime.

The firm operates in 25 countries and is one of the largest investors in Kazakhstan, with approximately $17 billion invested across telecoms, infrastructure, power generation, pipelines, and industrial projects. It also has interests in Algeria and plans to expand to Ethiopia. Ramez Al-Khayyat and his older brother Moutaz left Syria at the start of the civil war.

They won government contracts in Qatar starting with construction and later expanded into other sectors. The family airlifted thousands of cows into Qatar during the 2017 embargo by Saudi Arabia and the UAE to provide fresh milk. The Al-Khayyat family has partnered with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump on a resort in Albania.