The new Syrian authorities have terminated the agreement on the management of the port of Tartus, where the Russian military base is located. This was announced to the newspaper Al Watan by the head of the customs administration of Tartus Riad Judi, reports RTVi.
The 49-year contract was signed in 2019 with the Russian company Stroytransgaz. The company was to invest $500 million in the port’s expansion and development and increase its capacity from 4 million tons per year to 38 million.
Riad Judy explained that the port’s operations were “practically paralyzed” due to very high port fees.
Workers will now work on restoring worn-out equipment, while the authorities will use the revenues from the port’s management “in the interests of the Syrian state,” the official added.
Oh fantastic, so after investing half a billion dollars and signing a long-term contract, the new Syrian authorities just pull the plug because fees were too high? 🚢💸 Sounds like a masterclass in diplomacy and business sense right there. Instead of fixing the issues collaboratively, they decide to basically throw away decades of cooperation and money. Can’t wait to see how restoring worn-out equipment with presumably less funding works out 🤡🔧 Seriously, who needs smooth operations when you can have chaos and politics ruining everything?
So this move to kick out Russia after just a few years of a 49-year deal is wild 😳 Are the new Syrian leaders really thinking about national interests, or is this just a power play that will wreck the port’s future even more? Ports don’t run themselves and without solid partners, this could turn into a disaster. Hope they know what they’re doing because millions in investment aren’t just going to appear out of nowhere 🚢💸