Elaf fund will finance projects with buy-in from Saudi investors committing $2bn for two airports in Aleppo city.Listen to this articleListen to this article | 3 minsinfo Published On 7 Feb 20267 Feb 2026Click here to share on social mediashare2ShareSyria and Saudi Arabia have signed a major investment package spanning aviation, energy, real estate and telecommunications as Damascus’s new leadership seeks to rebuild after a devastating 14-year civil war.Syrian Investment Authority chief Talal al-Hilali announced a swath of deals on Saturday, including the development of a new international airport in Aleppo, the launch of a low-cost Syrian-Saudi airline, and a telecommunications project called SilkLink aimed at turning the country into a regional hub.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listSaudi Arabia has been a major backer of Syria’s new leaders, who took power after toppling longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, with this latest deal marking the biggest investment since the United States lifted sanctions on the country in December.Saudi Investment Minister Khalid al-Falih said the newly launched Elaf fund, which aims to finance large-scale projects with participation from Saudi private-sector investors, would commit $2bn (7.5 billion Saudi riyals) to develop two airports in the Syrian city of Aleppo.Rebuilding Syria’s economyAbdulsalam Haykal, Syria’s minister of communications and information technology, said his country will see nearly $1bn in investment in the telecommunications sector, with plans to lay thousands of kilometres of cable to boost connectivity between Asia and Europe.Saudi budget carrier Flynas and the Syrian Civil Aviation Authority announced they signed an agreement to establish a new airline called “Flynas Syria”, which would be 51 percent owned by the Syrian side and is slated to start operations in the fourth quarter of 2026. Advertisement Syria’s Ministry of Energy also signed a water agreement with Saudi Arabia’s ACWA Power, which is known for running projects in power generation and desalinated water production plants in the Middle East and beyond.Al-Hilali said the agreements targeted “vital sectors that imp …
