The new Syrian authorities have cancelled an investment agreement with the Russian company Stroytransgaz and the Syrian Mediterranean port of Tartus, the Syrian newspaper Al-Watan writes, citing a statement by Tartus Customs Director Riyad Judi.
"All revenues from the port's activities are now directed to the benefit of the Syrian state. The workers employed at the port will return to the management of the Syrian side," the customs official said.
Syria leased the port of Tartus to the Russian company Stroytransgaz for 49 years in 2019. The company, whose main beneficiary is Gennady Timchenko, was supposed to invest $500 million in the development of the port.

How much the Russian side invested is unknown. However, according to Judi, Stroytransgaz has never modernized the port mechanisms, despite the fact that this was stipulated in the contract, in addition, the port of Tartus has recently been practically idle due to very high fees for all port services.

After the change of power in Syria, as stated in the publication "Al-Watan", the work of the port has noticeably intensified, and dry cargo ships from other countries are arriving there.
We are talking about the civilian port of Tartus. The Russian naval base is also located in the same port. After the overthrow of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria in early December, the fate of this base, like the air base in Latakia, was in question. It was reported that the Russian authorities are negotiating the fate of the bases with the new Syrian authorities.

  Syria, Tartus, Russia

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