Market brief
Syria
The authorities that procure water infrastructure in Syria, how the deals are put together, and what is in the pipeline.
Reference profile for SyriaOverview
Syria has no established water procurement market, and current spending is on reconstruction. The Ministry of Energy, formed in March 2025, sets policy through its Water Resources Directorate,1 and since April 2026 a single General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation runs supply.2 The main funded programme is a US$150 million World Bank water grant procured on the Bank’s rules, mostly by open international bidding, with works bidding planned for 2028.3 4 In October 2026 the ministry invited expressions of interest in the Halabiyeh-Zalabiyeh dam on the Euphrates, put at US$1.16 billion, considering build-own-operate-transfer, build-operate-transfer and partnership models.5 The register records US$ 0.6 bn of disclosed value in projects not yet operating.6 The comprehensive United States sanctions programme and EU sectoral measures have been lifted, though screening is still needed.7 8 Cost recovery is low,1 and over half of supply infrastructure was severely damaged.3
Market snapshot
The commercial picture in Syria: the scale of the economy and the water sector, the investment climate, and where the near-term activity is concentrated.
Political stability
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators score, 0–100 (absolute scale), 2025. Political stability; higher is more stable.9
Investment climate
World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators score, 0–100 (absolute scale), 2025. Regulatory quality for private investment; higher is better.9
Key institutions
- Ministry of EnergyEnergy, oil, gas, minerals and water; formed 29 March 2025
- Water Resources DirectorateMinistry of Energy: policy, planning and regulation
- General Establishment for Drinking Water and SanitationNational utility (Decree 46, 2026), with governorate companies
Financing & PPP
- PPP frameworkUntested (PPP Law No. 5 of 2016)
- Tracked projectsUS$ 0.6 bn disclosed value in our projects register, of which US$ 0.6 bn pipeline (not yet operating)
- Active fundersWorld Bank (US$150 million IDA grant, approved 23 April 2026), UNDP, UNICEF
- Climate adaptation planNo NAP; adaptation in NDC (2018)
Opportunities
- 01Infrastructure reconstruction
- 02Irrigation modernisation
- 03Wastewater rehabilitation
Key challenges
- 01Conflict-damaged infrastructure
- 02Euphrates & Tigris transboundary flows
- 03Drought exposure
- 04Institutional capacity
Sources and notes
Sources: Water use by sector and total water withdrawal: FAO AQUASTAT, estimate for 2023, FAO AQUASTAT Dissemination System, retrieved 20 October 2026. No supply mix, desalination or reuse share is shown: AQUASTAT's available figures for Syria are old and partly imputed. Population and GDP: World Bank WDI, latest year (shown on each tile). Other figures: FAO AQUASTAT / national reports, latest available, approximate. Governance indicators: World Bank Worldwide Governance Indicators (2025).
Contracting authorities
The bodies that commission, regulate and operate water infrastructure in Syria. In Syria the Ministry of Energy, formed on 29 March 2025, sets policy and, through its Water Resources Directorate, plans and regulates the sector;1 since Decree 46 of April 2026 a single General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation, with a public water and sanitation company in each governorate, runs supply.2 There is no separate water regulator.
- Ministry of Agriculture (Syria)Ministry
- Ministry of EnergyMinistry
- General Establishment for Drinking Water and SanitationUtility
- Water Resources Directorate (Ministry of Energy)Basin & resources authority
How deals are structured
The framework in Syria is Untested (PPP Law No. 5 of 2016), the schemes we track carry US$ 0.6 bn of disclosed value, US$ 0.6 bn of it in projects not yet operating, and the funders active in the sector include World Bank (US$150 million IDA grant, approved 23 April 2026), UNDP, UNICEF.
In Syria, the tracked works are rehabilitation contracts financed by a World Bank grant and procured on its rules, mostly by open international bidding, with works bidding planned for 2028;4 in October 2026 the Ministry of Energy also invited expressions of interest for the Halabiyeh-Zalabiyeh dam, considering build-own-operate-transfer, build-operate-transfer and public-private partnership models.5 The Finance & Economics hub sets out each model and where it has been used.
The projects register bears this out. Of the 9 tracked schemes in Syria, 1 names a concession or independent-producer structure and 1 names EPC delivery in the finance note; the rest record only where the money came from, which is not the same as saying they were not concessions.
How to bid
Syria has no established water procurement market, but open calls have begun. What exists in 2026 is a Ministry of Energy formed by the March 2025 merger, a US$150 million multilateral water grant procured under World Bank rules, agreements with private-sector partners, and, since 7 October 2026, the ministry’s call for expressions of interest in the Halabiyeh-Zalabiyeh dam project on the Euphrates, put at US$1.16 billion, with responses due by 10 November.5 The Ministry of Water Resources no longer exists: it merged into a single Ministry of Energy on 29 March 2025, and the World Bank names the implementing agency as that ministry’s water resources directorate.10 1
| The World Bank grant | The Syria Emergency Water Security and Resilient Services Project, approved on 23 April 2026 as part of a US$225 million package, of which US$150 million is water. Procurement follows World Bank rules, with most planned major contracts using open international methods and some exceptions, such as direct selection for clearing explosive remnants of war.3 4 |
|---|---|
| Sequence | Consultancy first, works after: the owner’s engineer, estimated at US$4 million and selected through an open international process, is planned to be advertised in November 2026; works bidding is planned for 2028.4 |
| Scope | Water treatment and transmission in Idlib, Homs and Hama, wastewater rehabilitation in Damascus, and dam safety assessments.3 1 |
| The other route | Agreements with the Ministry of Energy, with no procurement method stated in the reports. Two examples from 2026: a technical services agreement with ACWA Power, WTCO and Fichtner for a desalination and transmission roadmap under a joint development agreement of February 2026, and an agreement with Saudi Meters Company to supply and install five million smart water meters.11 10 |
| Sanctions | The comprehensive United States Syria sanctions programme has been dismantled: Executive Order 14312 of 30 June 2025 revoked the underlying orders and ended the national emergency, the Syrian Sanctions Regulations were removed on 26 August 2025, the Caesar Act was repealed on 18 December 2025, and Syria’s state-sponsor-of-terrorism designation was rescinded on 24 August 2026.7 The EU lifted its sectoral economic measures, except those related to the Assad regime and security, on 28 May 2025,8 and the UK revoked specified sectoral measures on 25 April 2025.12 US designations on Assad and other destabilising actors remain, and some exports remain subject to Commerce controls, so screening is still needed.7 |
Over half of supply infrastructure and about 70% of wastewater plants were severely damaged, and supply is down roughly 40% on pre-conflict levels.3
Regulatory intelligence
| Regulation | Status | Year | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 Euphrates protocol and Syria–Iraq accord | Operative | 1987/1990 | 500 m³/s at the Turkish border; Iraq takes 58%, Syria 42%. |
| Iraq–Syria technical memorandum on shared waters | Signed | 2026 | Euphrates data exchange; proposal to revive the Syria–Iraq–Turkey joint technical committee. |
| Irrigation fee decision No. 5 | In force (last reported 2008) | 1999 | Flat O&M fees of US$70/ha for permanent and US$12/ha for winter irrigation, set by Prime Minister's Decision No. 5 of 21 November 1999. |
| Water Law No. 31 | Current primary legislation | 2005 | Water-use licensing; effectiveness impacted by the conflict. |
The institutional landscape is evolving; primary references are the current national authorities.
Projects
Tracked schemes in Syria, largest first. Each has its own page with the parties, the finance and a dated history.
Sources and notes
Interactive map: switch views, hover or focus a marker, and use the +/− controls (or double-click, then drag) to zoom and pan. Geometry and data from the MENA Water Review library.
Track record
No awards are on the record for Syria yet. The two 2026 agreements with the Ministry of Energy described under How to bid are not in the awards log. The awards log grows with each monthly review.
Pipeline & tenders
Structured procurements and live tenders in Syria, drawn from the same review that maintains the pipeline tracker.
Pipeline & awards
Tenders
Prices
What households pay
| Household tariff (US$/m³) | Cost of supply (US$/m³) | Year | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| not published | not published | 2026 | World Bank, project information document P515199 (2026); SANA (2026) |
No national schedule is published. In 2026 SANA reported a new monthly flat tariff by subscription bracket for the Aleppo countryside only, not covering Aleppo city or other governorates, and reported that tariffs do not cover the cost of producing a cubic metre. The World Bank describes the national tariff structure as about 15 years old and under revision, with low cost recovery.
Residential tariffs, and the cost of supply where a utility publishes it, are kept in one place for the whole region so the comparison holds: a tariff means little without the cost it is measured against.
Watch list
What has actually moved in Syria, dated, from the monthly briefings. Each item names the edition it came from.
- September 2026A World Bank procurement plan of 22 September lists the Ain Al-Zarqa, Upper Orontes and Adra rehabilitation works.From the October 2026 briefing
The full editions are in the briefing archive.
Sources
12 references
Project, pipeline and tender records are compiled from procurer announcements, lender disclosures and trade reporting; each project page carries its own source and the date it was last checked. Institutions are from the decision-maker directory. Economic and water indicators are cited on the reference profile.
- World Bank (2026), project information document, Syria Emergency Water Security and Resilient Services Project (P515199).
- SANA, on Legislative Decree No. 46 establishing the General Establishment for Drinking Water and Sanitation, April 2026.
- World Bank, approval of US$225 million to restore water and health services, 23 April 2026.
- World Bank, procurement plan, Syria Emergency Water Security and Resilient Services Project (P515199), 22 September 2026.
- MEED, on the call for expressions of interest in the Halabiyeh-Zalabiyeh dam, 7 October 2026.
- MENA Water Review major projects register and PPP pipeline — compiled from procurer publications, development-bank project pages and trade reporting; each record names its source.
- US Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control, frequently asked questions on Syria sanctions, updated 24 August 2026.
- European Commission, news release on the lifting of EU economic sanctions on Syria, 28 May 2025.
- Kaufmann & Kraay, Worldwide Governance Indicators (World Bank), 2025 update: political-stability and regulatory-quality scores, 0–100, shown in the market snapshot. worldbank.org/wgi.
- Kurrant, on the agreement to deploy five million smart water meters in Syria, 16 June 2026, which also records the March 2025 ministerial merger.
- SaudiGulf Projects, on the technical services agreement for a Syrian water infrastructure roadmap, 9 September 2026.
- UK Statutory Instrument 2025/507, amending the Syria sanctions regulations, in force 25 April 2025.
Numbered references are linked from the superscript markers in the text. Figures without a marker come from the sources above as compiled in the site methodology.