Enab Baladi – Mohammad Deeb Bazt

For many Syrians hoping to invest in Aleppo, the outlook remains uncertain. While the city has regained a portion of its commercial vitality, it continues to suffer from widespread destruction and lacks the infrastructure required for any viable economic venture.

Mohammad al-Masri, a Syrian residing in Istanbul, Turkey, expressed to Enab Baladi his desire to open a medical tourism office in Aleppo. However, he cited several obstacles, including weak infrastructure, the absence of modern hotels and transport systems, and ongoing security concerns.

Al-Masri believes that medical tourism could stimulate both the medical and tourism sectors simultaneously. However, he emphasized that the city lacks a proper hotel network, making it difficult to accommodate patients arriving from abroad or from other Syrian regions.

He added that medical tourism isn’t just about treatment — it also requires comfortable accommodation, cleanliness, and adequate transportation. A shortfall in any of these components could doom the project from the start.

Fragile Infrastructure, High Costs

Electricity, water, and internet services remain severely underdeveloped in large parts of Aleppo. Running any project demands extra costs just to ensure alternative energy sources.

Additionally, rent prices in commercial or central neighborhoods are disproportionately high compared to market conditions — even higher than in more stable cities.

Bassel, who owns an old shop in the same neighborhood, saves on rent but still faces significant challenges. He struggles to source essential materials due to rising costs and poor services in an area still plagued by weak infrastructure.

Despite the unclear investment climate, Bassel decided to return from Turkey and open an electrical goods store in al-Kallaseh. He described business in Turkey as “no longer worthwhile.”

Bassel’s case shows that some investors are willing to take risks and return — driven by a desire for stability or pressured by economic hardship in host countries. Yet internal challenges remain significant. His experience reveals the other side of Aleppo’s investment landscape: a divide between those eager to return and those waiting for more clarity.

The return of Syrian capital to Aleppo hinges on many conditions — starting with restoring basic services and extending to rebuilding legal and economic trust.

Amid fear and hope, some investors are simply waiting for a sign that returning won’t turn into a miscalculated gamble.

Real Estate Perspective

“The prices are no longer reasonable,” said Fadel, a real estate office owner in the al-Meridian neighborhood, summing up the recent state of Aleppo’s real estate market.

Despite repeated talk of investment and reconstruction opportunities in Aleppo, Fadel said the reality is quite different — describing it as “repelling” due to skyrocketing land and property prices, poor basic services, and deteriorating infrastructure.

Real estate prices have surged in neighborhoods like Nile Street, al-Mokambo, and al-Jamilieh.

Abu Adeeb, a real estate office owner in al-Jamilieh, said that these price hikes are not matched by service improvements or investment viability. Many initially enthusiastic investors back off after field visits reveal “the reality as it is.”

He believes the issue isn’t just high prices, but the complete lack of investment essentials. Investors seek more than just land — they need paved roads, functioning infrastructure, and projects that promise real returns — all of which Aleppo currently lacks.

Abu Adeeb noted that several Syrian investors returning from abroad withdrew after being “shocked” by land prices, even in partially destroyed or service-deprived areas.

He stressed that infrastructure is a decisive factor in any investment decision. Most neighborhoods lack stable electricity, functioning water networks, and proper roads — all of which deepen investor doubts.

“What’s the point of owning property if electricity is available for only two hours a day?” he asked. “No residential or commercial project can succeed without genuine infrastructure.”

Abu Adeeb identified the gap between land prices and potential returns as a major obstacle. “It’s illogical for land to cost 300 million Syrian pounds while a shop’s income barely reaches half a million per month,” he said. This ongoing price inflation without actual productivity poses a serious threat to the investment environment.

Real estate professionals interviewed by Enab Baladi said the market needs planning — not slogans. They believe repeated talk about investment and reconstruction in Aleppo will remain empty rhetoric unless concrete steps are taken to regulate the market and balance prices with actual returns.

While official bodies talk of service improvement projects, Aleppo’s real estate market remains hostage to tangible actions that restore balance between property prices and their real value — and that convince investors the city is truly ready to welcome capital, not repel it.

Market Recommendations

Several real estate agents and investors emphasized key recommendations to revitalize the market, including:

• Regulating the real estate market by properly evaluating prices, curbing speculation, and preventing monopolies.
• Launching public-private partnership projects to improve infrastructure in neighborhoods with growth potential.
• Offering investment incentives like fee reductions or tax exemptions in early years.
• Providing targeted financing for productive projects to encourage small and medium-sized investments.
• Rebuilding trust through clear, transparent laws that protect investor rights.

An Investment Gamble

Taysir Derklet, head of the al-Arqoub Industrial Committee in Aleppo, told Enab Baladi that much of the city’s infrastructure is still destroyed. Industrialists and current investors suffer from short electricity supply hours and high prices, without clear justification.

He added that no logical electricity pricing scheme has been introduced, even compared to non-oil-producing neighboring countries. “We pay more than anyone,” Derklet said.

In comparison, a kilowatt costs around 4 cents in Egypt, 7 in Jordan, and 9 in Turkey. But Aleppo’s industrialists pay up to 20 cents per kilowatt.

A Crisis of Trust

Derklet pointed to gaps in the regulatory framework — such as the delay in passing the new tax law and the failure to amend the investment law despite repeated promises. He also noted that rising real estate prices are stalling industrial expansion due to the absence of an updated zoning plan and a lack of new industrial zones.

He added that what investors currently pay for electricity could have previously financed an entire factory — a clear sign that today’s environment is far from ideal. There’s a pressing need for legislative reform. Delays create confusion and raise risk levels.

The real estate file, he said, is closely tied to the lack of new industrial zones. A meeting was held about a month ago, attended by Aleppo Governor Azzam al-Ghareeb, and directors from the Industrial Areas Administration and the Aleppo Chamber of Industry. The proposal: to establish new industrial areas.

But the problem, according to Derklet, lies in the lack of ready infrastructure and the inability to quickly equip such zones.

He explained that the industrial areas currently inside Aleppo receive only 8 to 10 hours of electricity daily — insufficient to efficiently run production lines.

The dual problem of weak electricity supply and high costs discourages investment and turns current capital injections into “a gamble.” Furthermore, slow legislative review only compounds investor fears.

Legal Uncertainty

Many Syrians abroad complain that Syria’s post-conflict legal environment remains murky. Even after the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad, no clear laws have been introduced to encourage investment or protect rights.

Investor sentiment is torn: fear of investing in an unstable environment versus fear of missing an opportunity, especially amid economic hardship in host countries like Turkey and Lebanon.

Hazem Lutfi, Aleppo’s Deputy Governor for Investment Affairs, told Enab Baladi that the draft of the new investment law includes “distinctive” investor incentives. However, he said details remain under discussion and cannot be disclosed before the law is officially issued.

Lutfi explained that Aleppo Governorate, in coordination with the Investment Authority and relevant institutions, is working to build a suitable investment environment by reviewing laws, aligning efforts among stakeholders, preparing investment projects, drafting technical requirements, inventorying public properties, and mapping out priority sectors for investment — focusing on ten key areas.

This comes as the Ministry of Economy and Industry approved on June 18 a new investment system for Syria’s industrial cities. The goal: to encourage domestic and foreign industrial investment and support the transfer and localization of technology and industrial know-how.

Despite all the challenges, opportunity still exists. But realizing it will require courage, vision, and genuine intervention by authorities to break the current stagnation — and return Aleppo to the investment map.