Kalyon İnşaat and Cengiz İnşaat Sign Major International Investment Deal with USD 4 Billion for Damascus International Airport
Turkish contractors are taking important steps to help erase the scars of war in Syria. A consortium including Kalyon İnşaat and Cengiz İnşaat has signed a strategic cooperation agreement to rehabilitate Damascus International Airport's facilities while simultaneously constructing new ones. Under the USD 4 billion agreement, the airport's annual passenger capacity will be increased to 31 million within 8 years.
Having delivered investments of global scale in Türkiye and abroad across sectors including energy, infrastructure and transport, Kalyon Holding and Cengiz Holding have added another major investment to their portfolio in Syria.
In the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, a USD 4 billion strategic cooperation agreement was signed between Suriye Sivil Havacılık Otoritesi and Türkiye's Kalyon İnşaat, Cengiz İnşaat and TAV, Qatar's UCC and US based Assets Investments.
Under the agreement, the consortium, which includes Kalyon İnşaat and Cengiz İnşaat, will rehabilitate Damascus International Airport's facilities while constructing new facilities simultaneously.
Through gradual capacity increases over a total of 4 phases, the airport's annual passenger capacity will be raised to 31 million within 8 years.
They Had Previously Signed a USD 7 Billion Strategic Energy Investment Deal
In May, in the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al Sharaa, a USD 7 billion strategic cooperation agreement was signed between Suriye Enerji Bakanlığı and Türkiye's Kalyon Holding and Cengiz Holding, Qatar's UCC and US based Power International.
Under that agreement, the consortium including Kalyon Holding and Cengiz Holding will deliver a 5,000 MW energy investment, expected to generate approximately 35 billion kWh of electricity annually once completed. This is intended to meet a very substantial share of Syria's electricity needs.
“Our Investments Will Support Regional Development and Stability and Leave a Legacy for the Future”
Commenting on their investments in Syria, Kalyon İnşaat Chairman Murathan Kalyoncu said: “As a Turkish company rooted in our country, for 81 years we have aimed to put people first wherever we operate and leave a legacy for future generations. We have sought to deliver projects through which we can proudly represent Türkiye internationally and contribute to humanity, nature and the environment.
In this context, together with a consortium that included Cengiz İnşaat, we successfully completed the construction of Istanbul Airport, Türkiye's largest infrastructure project, in a record 42 months. We then established it as the world's leading global connectivity hub, with an annual capacity of 90 million passengers.
Now, I firmly believe that our management experience, engineering strength, technical competence and solutions focused approach will make a major contribution to turning Damascus into a regional air transport hub.
I hope that these major investments will mark a turning point for Syria and provide substantial support for regional development and stability,” he said.
“We Will Be a Driving Force for Sustainable Community Life and Economic Development”
Explaining that they continue to help erase the scars of war in Syria through their many years of international experience, Cengiz İnşaat Deputy Chairman Asım Cengiz said: “Through the projects we undertook in the Karabakh region of our brotherly country Azerbaijan, we helped erase the scars of war. We are now working to help life return to normal in our friendly country Syria. Through the projects we have signed, we seek to carry the centuries old friendship between our two countries into the centuries ahead.
Our priority in projects delivered both in Türkiye and in countries around the world is to support local development and economic growth. By bringing the experience we have gained since 1980 to Syria, we will be a driving force for sustainable community life and economic development.
In the projects we undertake, we will also uphold our high quality standards with a sense of responsibility for representing our country. We will continue to undertake projects in our friendly country Syria and contribute to its development,” he said.
