Special for Al Jazeera NetAfter years of stalemate, the first vessel of Tartus was loaded with cars since the collapse of the previous regime, carrying about 3,200 cars. This event brought life back to the Syrian ports, and reflected preliminary indicators on the recovery of commercial activity and the expansion of the local market, but many questions arise about the ability of the weak infrastructure to absorb this sudden flow in the absence of clear organizational plans.
There is no doubt that the resumption of importing cars of this large size indicates a relative improvement in the business environment, and the increasing purchasing power of some segments of society. But on the other hand, real challenges related to the deterioration of roads, the scarcity of parking, the increasing pressure on fuel, the weak maintenance services, in addition to expected traffic jams, are highlighted, especially in the absence of an effective public transport system, and the possibilities of rapid depletion of foreign pieces in a country that originally suffers from chronic financial crises.
Field preparations and organizational efforts
In a special statement to Al -Jazeera Net, Mazen Alloush, Director of Relations at the General Authority for land and sea ports, confirmed that this development represents a turning point in trust between Syrian investors and ports, and shows its ability to receive and manage major shipments with high efficiency, in a way that contributes to stimulating the national economy. Alloush estimated the number of cars that entered Syria after its liberation at about 100,000 cars.
He added that the authority has developed an integrated work plan to unload the ship over a continuous 12 hours of hours, by distributing the work teams with the system of shifts to ensure the continuity of the work without stopping. A priority system has also been adopted for vehicle movement, and activated electronic systems for monitoring and regulating operations within the port.
Alloush explained that the authority took all the necessary technical measures, including preparing mobile maintenance teams inside the port, supported by the necessary equipment for rapid intervention when any technical breakdowns occurred during the discharge process. As for the regulation of the movement of cars, which amounted to about 3,200 vehicles, separate paths and squares have been allocated according to the type of vehicle, while strengthening the number of checkpoints to facilitate entry and exit, and to ensure the flow of movement within the port and the roads leading to it.
Traffic safety under pressure
In light of this remarkable commercial development, a disturbing crisis relates to the reality of traffic safety in the country, especially with the high number of vehicles and the increase in transportation. The Syrian Civil Defense announced 600 traffic accidents since the beginning of 2025, which resulted in the death of 39 people and the injury of 567 others, including 119 children and 72 women.
Speaking to Al -Jazeera Net, Wissam Zidan, a civil defense official, explained that these numbers reflect the urgent need to take actual measures to improve the road infrastructure, enhance traffic awareness, control speed, and adhere to traffic laws, especially with the high transportation after liberation.
Zidane pointed out that traffic accidents have become more common recently as a result of severe bottlenecks on roads and ultrasound, which were exacerbated by the widespread damage to infrastructure as a result of air and artillery shelling during the war years, as well as lack of commitment to traffic rules by some drivers.
Opinions and proposals for organizational and economic solutions
With fears of traffic and service problems escalating, economic experts and activists called for adopting a package of balanced procedures to keep pace with this sudden growth in vehicle movement, including imposing a phased registration system for imported cars, linking them to the ability of each city to absorb, and impose dedicated development fees for restoration and public parking and parking.
They also recommended encouraging economic cars through customs exemptions on electric or low -consuming cars, and setting a national plan for urban transport that takes into account the accelerated growth in the number of vehicles, and enhances mass transportation, in addition to improving the readiness of the service structure of maintenance, fuel and spare parts in proportion to the development of the car market.
Economic impact
In his analysis of the scene, the economic researcher, Adham Qadmani, believes that the import of cars of this large size may reflect negatively on the size of foreign currencies inside Syria, as cars are imported in difficult currencies in the absence of official payment channels.
In his interview with Al -Jazeera Net, Qadmani explained that the usual mechanism in stable countries is carried out through official banks to secure the foreign currency, while in the Syrian case the dollar is secured from the black market or from the savings of citizens, which is considered – according to his opinion – a direct depletion of foreign currency reserves outside the official financial system.
He pointed out that cars are considered a luxury commodity in a country that faces a severe shortage of local production of basic materials, meaning, from his point of view, that the resources designated for importing cars could have been employed in supporting more urgent production or industrial projects.
He added that the high demand for cars is understood at this stage as a result of the thirst of the market after a long interruption, especially since “the last model is available in the country before the war was dating back to 2011, at exorbitant prices,” as he put it. He indicated that the prices began to decrease concretely after opening the import door, but he pointed out that the infrastructure was not eligible to accommodate this amount of vehicles.
Despite his reservations about the volume of import, Qadmani stressed that the customs duties and taxes imposed on cars are an important source of the public treasury, and are used to finance transport and infrastructure projects. He pointed out that there is a surplus of these revenues that usually convert to the public treasury, and that some transport projects are managed through partnerships between the state and the private sector.
The economic researcher expected the market expansion to continue in the short term in the absence of alternative production sectors, but he did not rule out that policies will change later, suggesting that taxes may be raised on imported cars if the government launched local car production projects, which may “require about two years to secure the necessary infrastructure”, according to his estimation.
He also stressed that the new government is required to attract investors by amending the laws, simplifying procedures, and enhancing transparency, as well as reforming the banking sector and ensuring that it leaves the International Sanctions Department, to be a starting base for any expected economic recovery.
Impressions from the local market
For his part, Mohamed Fahmy, a car dealer in northern Syria, expressed his concern about the high prices and increasing demand, noting that the residents in areas that were under the control of the regime were buying the car more than 7 times the price compared to the regions of northern Syria, as a result of customs taxes and luxury taxes.
Fahmy explained, in his interview with Al-Jazeera Net, that there are daily traffic jams, especially on the international highway of Aleppo-Damascus, due to the entry of large numbers of cars from maritime ports, Aleppo, Idlib and Daraa crossings, noting that “the situation requires an urgent move to control traffic and set controls for import.”
