Turkey’s Ministry of Trade is continuing projects to modernize and expand customs crossings along its border with Syria, aiming to increase their capacity and improve infrastructure amid intensified efforts to support trade, reconstruction, and regional stability.

The projects are also expected to facilitate trade and improve the efficiency of services provided at border crossings, Anadolu Agency reported, citing the Turkish Ministry of Trade on Sunday, August 16.

During the first seven months of this year, 33% of the expansion work at the Cilvegözü crossing in Hatay province, opposite the Bab al-Hawa crossing on the Syrian side, was completed. The expansion is set to increase the crossing’s yard from 17 to 23 dunams and the number of lanes from two to four.

At Turkey’s Akçakale crossing, opposite the Syrian Tal Abyad crossing (Raqqa, northern Syria), mines were cleared from 24 dunams of land belonging to the Ministry of Defense. The Ministry of Trade also allocated about 59 dunams of land belonging to the Turkish Grain Board as part of a project to expand and modernize the crossing.

Planning and construction work is also continuing on a service building at the Öncüpınar crossing, opposite Bab al-Salameh. At the Çobanbey crossing, opposite al-Rai (Aleppo, northern Syria), work is underway to expand its yard from 21 to 71 dunams.

At the Karkamış crossing, opposite Jarabulus (Aleppo, northern Syria), construction of permanent service buildings has begun alongside a plan to expand the crossing’s yard from 15 to 90 dunams.

At the Nusaybin crossing, opposite Qamishli (Hasakah, northeastern Syria), all infrastructure and superstructure work has been completed. The crossing is expected to begin operating if a customs crossing is opened in Qamishli.

Meanwhile, Qutaiba Badawi, head of the General Authority for Border Crossings and Customs, said during the inauguration of new freight yards and a logistics center near Turkey’s Cilvegözü crossing that the authority is implementing an integrated project to expand and develop the Bab al-Hawa crossing.

The project includes freight yards, buildings, service facilities, and lanes for truck and passenger traffic. Badawi said the project is expected to be completed and opened within three months, complementing the new facilities on the Turkish side and improving the efficiency of movement between the two crossings.

Badawi said border crossings between Syria and Turkey are seeing rapid growth in trade, transit traffic, and passenger movement, alongside rising numbers of trucks and expanding commercial exchange. He said this strengthens their role as vital gateways connecting Turkish and European markets with Arab markets through Syrian territory.

Trade Volume Rises

Turkish Trade Minister Ömer Bolat announced that trade between Turkey and Syria increased by 16% during the first seven months of this year, while trade in 2025 recorded an increase of 45%.

Bolat also said bilateral trade between Turkey and Syria reached about $3.75 billion last year, noting that work is continuing toward a foreign trade target of $10 billion, which he said reflects the development of commercial and economic relations between the two countries.

He added that Syria represents an important corridor for Turkey to access the entire Gulf region and North Africa, while Turkey serves as an important transit point for Syria toward the West, Europe, and the Caucasus.

Passenger Traffic Through Turkey Crossings Rebounds

The Bab al-Salameh border crossing with Turkey has recorded active passenger traffic since the beginning of this year, with a total of 1.04 million arrivals and departures. The movement included 63,000 Syrian citizens who returned voluntarily.

The Tal Abyad border crossing with Turkey has also seen continuous passenger movement since the beginning of 2026, with about 100,000 arrivals and departures in total. The traffic included the entry of 14,000 Syrian citizens who returned voluntarily.

The Jarabulus border crossing recorded about 71,000 passengers traveling in both directions since the beginning of this year, while the crossing received nearly 8,000 Syrian citizens who voluntarily returned to the country.