Washington – The World Bank announced on Wednesday that it has approved a $146 million grant for Syria to support the restoration of the country’s severely damaged electricity sector.
In a statement, the Bank said the grant was approved by its Board of Executive Directors and will be disbursed through the International Development Association (IDA) under a program titled the Syria Emergency Electricity Project (SEEP).
The project is intended to rehabilitate damaged transmission lines and substations, provide technical assistance for the sector’s development, and enhance institutional capacity. It is the first major World Bank initiative to directly support infrastructure inside Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in 2011.
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“Among Syria’s urgent reconstruction needs, rehabilitating the electricity sector has emerged as a critical, no-regret investment that can improve the living conditions of the Syrian people, support the return of refugees and the internally displaced, enable resumption of other services such as water services and healthcare for the population and help kickstart economic recovery,” said Jean-Christophe Carret, World Bank Middle East Division Director.
The electricity grid in Syria has been decimated by over a decade of conflict, widespread damage to infrastructure, and chronic underinvestment. Millions of Syrians currently face daily power outages lasting up to 20 hours, with rural and opposition-held areas often faring worse.
Part of Broader Energy Recovery Push
The announcement comes one day after Syria’s Minister of Energy, Mohammad al-Bashir, held virtual talks with Jordanian Energy Minister Saleh Kharabsheh and Fahad al-Sulaiti, Director General of the Qatar Fund for Development. The talks focused on accelerating the delivery of Qatari natural gas to Syria via Jordan, which is also intended to improve electricity generation and reduce outages.
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“We agreed on several steps to speed up gas imports, which will enhance electricity supply across Syrian provinces,” al-Bashir wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The Syrian government has recently signed multibillion-dollar energy infrastructure agreements with companies from Qatar, Turkey, and the United States, including plans to build four combined-cycle gas power plants and a large solar power facility.
