Saudi fund signs $403 million in concessional loans with Syria

Summary

• The Saudi Fund for Development signed six concessional loan deals worth over $403 million with Syria.
• Projects cover power generation, water metering, civil defense, housing, hospitals and finance ministry digitization.
• The package deepens Riyadh's financial footprint in Syria after earlier oil and salary grants.

The latest

Six concessional development loan agreements worth more than $403 million were signed between the Saudi Fund for Development and Syria's finance ministry, targeting energy, water, health, housing, infrastructure and digital transformation. SPA said the deals were signed under directives from King Salman and the Crown Prince, and in the presence of the Crown Prince and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.

Details

• The signatories: SPA said Saudi Fund for Development Chief Executive Sultan Al-Marshad signed for the fund, with Syrian Finance Minister Mohammad Yasser Barnieh signing for Damascus, in the presence of the Crown Prince and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa.
• Aleppo power plant: The largest energy component is a $90 million project to rehabilitate generation units at the Aleppo thermal power station. SPA said roughly 5 million people are expected to benefit, making it the second-biggest line item after civil defense.
• Civil defense centers: At $105 million, the civil defense component is the largest of the six. It covers construction, rehabilitation and equipping of 25 centers, with more than 7 million beneficiaries, the highest reach cited for any project, according to SPA.
• Health sector: A $100 million project is allocated to rehabilitating and equipping hospitals and health centers across Syria. The announcement did not specify how many facilities are covered, their locations, or an implementation timeline.
• Water metering: A $30 million project funds modernization of the drinking water metering system through the supply and installation of 300,000 smart water meters. SPA put the number of beneficiaries at about 1.5 million people.
• Housing repair: A $60 million loan targets rehabilitation of up to 10,000 damaged residential units. The figure was presented as a ceiling rather than a fixed target, and no breakdown by city or province was given.
• Finance ministry overhaul: The smallest agreement, worth more than $18 million, funds digital transformation and institutional development at the Syrian finance ministry — the only component directed at state administrative capacity rather than physical infrastructure or services.
• The arithmetic: The six project values sum precisely to $403 million: 90 plus 105 plus 100 plus 60 plus 30 plus 18. Energy, health and civil defense together account for close to three quarters of the total.
• Earlier support: In September 2025, Saudi Arabia provided Syria with two grants through the same fund, covering crude oil supplies and part of public sector salaries for three months, according to SPA. The latest package shifts from grants to concessional lending.

Background

The Saudi Fund for Development is Riyadh's main concessional financing arm for projects abroad, operating through soft loans and grants to recipient governments. Its engagement with Damascus became public with the September 2025 grants covering crude oil and a portion of government salaries.

Between the lines

The move from short-term grants to multi-year concessional loans signals a longer financing horizon. The $18 million finance ministry digitization component — the only non-infrastructure item — points to an interest in the institutional capacity of the state that disburses the money, not only in the projects it funds. Civil defense and power generation, the two largest allocations, are both services with immediate visibility.

What's next

Watch for disbursement schedules and tender announcements on the Aleppo thermal plant and the 25 civil defense centers, and for whether further Saudi Fund for Development agreements with Damascus follow this package.

Source: Saudi Press Agency (SPA)