Dubai developer Emaar Properties is to exit the joint venture structure of a $500 million development in Syria and has announced plans to operate the project independently, as Syria's new government seeks more investment to rebuild the country's economy.
The company is in the process of exiting the JV structure related to The Eighth Gate, a mixed-use development in Yafour, Damascus that was launched in 2005, Emaar said in a statement on Monday.
Emaar did not provide further details on why it is leaving the partnership or who the partner was. A Wam report in 2006 said that the project is a JV between Emaar and IGO, an offshore investment and property development company.
Emaar did not respond in time for the publishing of this article when contacted for further details on the latest transaction. The value of the transaction was also not disclosed.
“Our decision to exit the JV structure of The Eighth Gate is a statement of our unwavering belief in Syria and its people,” Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties, said. “Emaar was built on the conviction that great cities deserve great communities – and Damascus is one of the greatest cities in the world.”
The Eighth Gate is Syria's first masterplanned community, covering an area of 300,000 square metres, with commercial, retail, hospitality and residential zones near Damascus.
The project was named in homage to Damascus’s seven ancient gates that welcomed people from around the world. “The project aspires to be a modern eighth gateway: one that honours Syria’s extraordinary heritage while opening the country to a new era of growth, commerce and community,” Emaar said.
The new announcement comes as Syria seeks new investments to support growth following a 14-year civil war that devastated its economy and caused severe damage to its infrastructure.
The new government led by President Ahmad Al Shara is now seeking to rebuild investor confidence, attract foreign direct investments, reform its laws and introduce a revalued currency.
The US removed its Syria sanctions programme by executive order in July last year, and Congress repealed the Caesar Act in December, paving the way for more investments.
Last week, Mr Alabbar announced plans to invest as much as $18 billion in Syria in different projects, including between $5 billion and $7 billion on the Syrian coast and up to $11 billion in Damascus and its surroundings.
“In my real estate business, I think it's an amazing opportunity because the city of Latakia or Damascus have never been, have not had any real estate expansion, which I think is the time for somebody like me to come in and put my teeth in, and I'm really very positive on everything that I see in Syria,” Mr Alabbar told The National in Damascus.
Emaar, which reported a nearly 35 per cent annual increase in its first-quarter profit, is also active in other international markets including Egypt, India, Pakistan, Morocco and Turkey.
Noon, the e-commerce platform co-founded by Mr Alabbar, also plans to launch operations in Syria amid the reopening of its economy.
The UAE and Syria convened their first bilateral business forum in Damascus last week, with a large Emirati delegation of officials and businesspeople arriving in the Syrian capital for the first time since the fall of the regime of Bashar Al Assad in 2024.
