Free Zone and Dry Port

Project Overview

The Idlib free zone and dry port is a planned integrated free zone with a dry port in Idlib Governorate. The General Establishment for Free Zones, which is attached to the General Authority for Borders and Customs, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on 7 May 2026 at the Idlib Governorate building with BOMACO (Border Management & Consulting), a company SANA describes as Turkish. SANA reported that the MoU aims to implement the project of building and operating the free zone under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. In late July 2026 the Authority's relations director described the project as still in its preparatory phase.

SANA reported on 14 June 2025 that the free zone is planned in the eastern part of Idlib Governorate at the junction of the international roads, on an area exceeding 1,105,000 square metres. SANA's report of 6 October 2026 places the free zone and dry port in the Tarnaba area of rural Idlib. Authority head Qutaiba Badawi said in July 2026 that the site lies near the Bab al-Hawa crossing and the Turkish border, where the M4 and M5 highways meet.

Parties and Roles

The General Establishment for Free Zones is attached to the General Authority for Borders and Customs and signed the MoU for the Syrian side. BOMACO is the company named in the MoU to prepare the studies and carry out the planning and implementation. SANA and Al Jazeera Net describe BOMACO as a Turkish company, while its own website presents it as an international partnership founded in 2023 and headquartered in London; the Authority's relations director told Enab Baladi, in a report published on 13 April 2026, that it specialises in developing and managing border crossings, customs facilities and logistics centres, including dry ports. Idlib Governorate hosted the signing, the deputy governor of Hatay Province in Türkiye attended it, and the Syrian General Railway Corporation took part in an October 2026 meeting on a rail link (see the updates).

Signing Ceremony

The MoU was signed on Thursday 7 May 2026. According to SANA, citing Idlib Governorate's Telegram channel, the Establishment was represented by its director general, Ahmad al-Damen, and BOMACO by its general manager and chief executive, Sarhan Balaban. The ceremony was attended by Idlib Governor Mohammad Abdul Rahman, the deputy governor of Hatay Province, and officials from both sides.

Implementation Model

The MoU provides for implementing the project under a BOT model, with BOMACO preparing the technical and economic studies and carrying out the planning and implementation, as reported by Syria TV and Al-Ikhbariah, the latter citing the Authority's official posts. As SANA explains it, BOT is a public-private partnership in which a private company finances and builds an infrastructure project or public facility, runs it for a fixed period and then hands ownership to the state.

Components

The project combines an integrated free zone with a dry port, and provides for industrial, commercial and service facilities and logistics infrastructure to support transport and trade, as reported by Syria TV and Al-Ikhbariah, the latter citing the Authority's official posts.

Objectives and Context

According to SANA's report of the signing, the project is meant to stimulate economic activity, attract investment, create jobs and promote trade between Syria and Türkiye. SANA's report of 14 June 2025 likewise lists creating jobs for the people of Idlib among its aims. The Establishment's relations manager told Syria TV in May 2026 that the zone is not limited to Turkish investors, that Syrian investors are the priority and that foreign companies may also invest; that it would work mainly for export, with goods entering the Syrian market still subject to customs duties and taxes; and that it may provide about 8,000 direct jobs across the implementation and operation phases.

Background

The plan predates the MoU. SANA reported on 24 May 2025, citing the Authority's statement, that Authority head Qutaiba Badawi and the Governor of Idlib agreed to set up a joint technical committee to select the site and draw up an implementation plan (the Authority was then called the General Authority for Land and Sea Ports), and on 14 June 2025 that the Authority had begun the first implementation steps. In April 2026 Badawi met BOMACO in the presence of the Establishment's director general to discuss a joint project to build the Idlib free zone with a dry port inside it, as Syria TV reported on 1 April. The MoU followed on 7 May 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who signed the memorandum of understanding?

The General Establishment for Free Zones (attached to the General Authority for Borders and Customs) and BOMACO, which SANA describes as a Turkish company, signed it on 7 May 2026 at the Idlib Governorate building.

What implementation model does the MoU provide for?

A Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model: BOMACO would prepare the studies and carry out the planning and implementation and, as SANA explains the model, run the facility for a fixed period before ownership passes to the state.

Where is the project located and what is its size?

SANA reported in June 2025 that the free zone is planned in the eastern part of Idlib Governorate, on an area exceeding 1,105,000 square metres; its October 2026 report places it in the Tarnaba area of rural Idlib.

What does the project include?

An integrated free zone with industrial, commercial and service facilities, and a dry port backed by logistics infrastructure for transport and trade.

What is the project's current status?

As of 28 July 2026 the Authority's relations director described the project as still in its preparatory phase, with no timetable announced (see the updates). On 5 October 2026 a meeting was held on connecting the dry port to the rail network.

UPDATE 28.07.2026, STILL IN THE PREPARATORY PHASE

The project remains in its preparatory phase and construction has not begun. In a report published on 28 July 2026, Al Jazeera Net quoted Mazen Alloush, Director of Relations at the General Authority for Borders and Customs, as telling "Syria Now" that the project has completed several foundational steps, including signing the MoU and preparing the technical and economic studies and planning work, and that initial negotiating sessions have been held on the terms of the final agreement, covering technical, investment, operational and legal aspects. He said no timetable has been officially announced, and that the Authority will announce the schedule and implementation stages once the legal and contractual procedures are complete and the final form of the project is approved.

Al Jazeera Net also reported that a delegation of the Authority visited Ankara on 21 and 22 July 2026, where the free zone and dry port project topped the talks. SANA reported that on 22 July the delegation, headed by Authority head Qutaiba Badawi, held talks with Türkiye's Trade Minister and then attended a Syrian-Turkish investment forum organised by BOMACO to introduce the project and the openings for companies to join its construction, development and operation. Badawi described the project as strategic and regional and invited Turkish companies and investors to study the opportunities it offers, while the director general of the General Establishment for Free Zones gave a presentation on the project's location, components and implementation stages.

UPDATE 05.10.2026, RAIL LINK TO THE DRY PORT UNDER STUDY

A three-way meeting discussed connecting the project to the rail network. SANA reported on 6 October 2026 that the Syrian General Railway Corporation met the free zones administration and BOMACO representatives at the Corporation's headquarters in Aleppo on Monday 5 October to discuss rail transport serving the new free zone and the dry port in the Tarnaba area of rural Idlib. The meeting also looked at the technical and economic feasibility of linking the zone to the national rail network through Abu al-Duhur station.

The Corporation's director general, Osama Haddad, told SANA that the technical and implementation studies for the rail link are to be included in the first phase of the dry port's detailed design. He said the branch line from Abu al-Duhur station to the dry port, 35 to 40 kilometres long, would be built at BOMACO's expense under a BOT arrangement, in coordination with the Corporation and under its supervision, and that ownership and operation of the line would eventually pass to the Corporation. He added that the dry port's engineering plan includes a loading and unloading station with a dedicated rail spur of 600 to 750 metres, equipped with yard cranes. Haddad presented the following as targets and expectations rather than results: a rail share of 25 to 40 percent of the targeted container volume, with volumes expected to rise from roughly 50,000 containers in 2027 to 500,000 at peak.