Syria's New Rulers Hand Operatorship of Port of Tartus to DP World

After booting out the previous Russian operator of the port of Tartus, the newly-installed government of Syria has handed its operation to blue-chip ports concessionaire DP World. The announcement follows just five days after the U.S. formally lifted its longstanding Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) designation on Syria's current rulers, the former jihadist militia Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), also known as al-Nusrah Front.

The new concession agreement between the HTS-led government's port authority and DP world will bring in $800 million in investment in the facility's infrastructure. The country's decade-long civil war and stringent Western sanctions prevented any major revamps under the previous operator, and the fresh support will help modernize the port. According to DP World, it will become a regional trade hub connecting Europe, the Mideast and North Africa.

The deal with DP World is a new high point for Syria's post-revolution economic revival. In early December, the U.S.-designated terror group Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) ousted Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, along with Assad's Russian and Iranian backers. Under Assad, Syria had awarded a 49-year operating lease for Tartus to Stroytransgaz, an oil and gas construction company based in Moscow; HTS canceled that contract shortly after taking power, and it curtailed the Russian Navy's port access as well.

Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the former al-Qaeda member who led HTS to victory over Assad last year, was present at the signing ceremony with DP World this weekend. Al-Sharaa - who has renounced the global jihadist movement - had previously met in person with President Donald Trump to press the case for normalized relations with Syria; the lifting of the terrorist-group designation on his group was supported by the government of the UAE, which owns DP World.