Saudi fund lends Syria $403.6 million for six service projects

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yasser Bernieh and Saudi Fund for Development CEO Sultan Al-Murshed signed six concessional loan agreements in Riyadh for the electricity, water, health, housing and civil defense sectors, in the presence of President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Syria’s Ministry of Finance and the Saudi Fund for Development signed six concessional development loan agreements worth more than $403 million in total on Wednesday at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh. The agreements will finance projects in electricity, water, health, housing, emergency services and digital transformation, in the presence of Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa and Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman.

Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yasser Bernieh signed the agreements on behalf of the relevant ministries and bodies, while Saudi Fund CEO Sultan bin Abdul Rahman Al-Murshed signed for the Saudi side, the Syrian Ministry of Finance announced, as reported by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA).

الرئيس السوري أحمد الشرع وولي العهد السعودي محمد بن سلمان خلال مراسم التوقيع في قصر اليمامة

Civil defense, health and Aleppo power plant lead the package

The largest allocation, $105 million, will fund the construction, rehabilitation and equipping of 25 civil defense centers to support emergency response, rubble and mine clearance, and road opening. More than 7 million people are expected to benefit from the project. Another $100 million was allocated to hospitals and health centers, while $90 million will rehabilitate generating units at the Aleppo thermal power plant, providing stable electricity to around 5 million people.

The package also includes $60 million to rehabilitate up to 10,000 damaged housing units, $30 million to install 300,000 smart prepaid water meters, and more than $18 million to digitize government financial services. Syrian media reported that the loans will be repaid over 20 years, including a five-year grace period.

First installment of a larger package

The Ministry of Finance described the agreements as the “first installment” of a list of service projects being prepared for financing through the fund. SANA said they represented the first Saudi development financing directed directly to the Syrian state. Bernieh announced in October that the fund’s board had approved financing for six projects worth about $406 million, and said talks were underway on projects whose total value could reach $1.5 billion.

الوفدان السوري والسعودي خلال مراسم توقيع الاتفاقيات ومذكرات التفاهم في قصر اليمامة بالرياض

The visit also included the signing of a cooperation agreement between the two countries’ defense ministries, memorandums of understanding on industry, agriculture and the environment, and an agreement on Syria’s participation in Expo 2030 Riyadh. The package extends Saudi support that began in 2025, when Riyadh and Doha paid Syria’s arrears to the World Bank, amounting to about $15 million. Damascus also hosted a Syrian-Saudi investment forum that produced 47 agreements and memorandums of understanding worth more than $6 billion.

Photos: SANA

Saudi fund lends Syria $403.6 million for six service projects