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RESTRICTED

This report is restricted to use within the Bank

INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT

SYRIAN TRANSPORTATION PROBLEMS

April 20 t 1951

Economic Department Prepared by: Grace W. Finne

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SYRIAN TRANSPOR~TION

Table of Contents.

Su~ary and Conclusions

It Highways

II, Railways

III, Ports

IV, Pipelines

V. Aviation

Tables: I. Extent of Roads in selected Middle

Eastern Countries

II! The Jezira Road Improvement Program

III~ Syrian Railways and Connecting Lines

IV. Goods and Passenger Traffic on the Chemin de fer Damas-Hama et Pro­longement

v. Latakia and ]eirut Port Movements

VI. Port of Latakia Vessel Entrances and Clearances (Cargo M~vements at Lata­kia (1950 by IvIonth).

. ~:opendices:

A, Routes in Syria

page

" " «

II

It

II

11

If

II

II

"

13.. Road Dev!?lopment Programs as recommended by: II' The U.LT. Survey Mission

II. The :Bureau of Public Roads Ill. Sir Alexander Gibb & Company

1

2

7

11

16

17

19

20

21

23

24

25

r,(ap ItSyria: Transportation and Location of Projects".

SYRIAN TRANSPORTATION

--------~----------~-

T.able of Contents

~mmary and Conclusions page 1

I. Highwats II 2

II •. Railw~s n 7

IIf. Ports II 11

lY. pipelines n 16

v. Aviation If 17

Tables ..

Appendix

Map

• SU~~~Y AND CONCLUSIONS

Transport projects are of primary" importance for the realization of an economic development program in Syria. Syrta's recently acquired in­dependence (1946) and separation from the Custcmf s Union with Lebanon (1950) have also created new demands on the transport network.

Several transport projects hav~ been technically surveyed and considered by the Government. Insnfflci~nt funds and a shortage of skilled labor have hampered their implementation. Recently, the Bank '.JaS approached for a loan for road improvement projects.

Transpo~t projects such as the Jezira road improvement scheme and the Latakia port development plan are closely tied to the plans for agri~~l­tural development. Improved transportation is necessary to market the pro­jected i~crease in production and in turn the anticipated level of production and pattern of distribution determine the type and extent of transnort in­vestment ..

Road, railroad and port projects, how~rt are not coordinated in­to an overall transportation program, which again ~"'ou1d constitute part of a general economic development scheme. In order to achieve a coordinated transport program, furt~er economic surveys should be coupled with adminis­trative imprQvements to ensure the fullest cooperation between the respective respensible authorities.

On the basis of the currently available m~terial, the need for transport develoFment appears to be mainly for road improvements, port of Latakia development and some railway rehabilitation,

I. HIGHWAYS

Importance.

T~e highway network is the backbone of the Syrian transport system. The railways are limited in extent and capacity, waterway transport is in­signlficant~ and aviation is important only in respect to international pas­senger ttaffic.

Modern truck transport in Syria appears to be the logical conti­nuation of the ancient caravan transportation.

Because of its flexibility, highway transport can adjust to the uneven deIpand for transport services caused by the separation of pllpulation centers by mountains and deser~s and by the seasonal nature of agricultural shipments, The diversified and general~y light shipments make truck ~rans­port economically advantageous. Furthermore, the comparatively low over­head cost of road transport facilitatos the financing of improvements.

Extent and T:ype of Roads.

The ;>yrian road nehrork (see map) compr1!les of ?,8,3? km. of ,,,,hlch 2,4,31 km. are asphalted. The length of asphalted roads was increased from about 1,500 km~ in 1943. to about 2,400 km. in 1948. The more than A,~oO k~. of roads \'lithout ~rd surface are partly macadam roads, partly drY-i·,eather roads and partly trails. Bad stretches on many roads limit the usefulness of the entire road.

The density of roads per 100 sC!.~. is about 6.1 kID., ,,,,hieh Qhm ... pares favorably with the neighboring countries of Iran and Iraq, but is below 'Iurkey and considerably belo'" Lebanon. (1)

Qyerall Desxri~tign of Network,

Main road arteries (see atta.ched ma!>s) folIo'" the ancient earavan routes, connecting trading centers. such as Damascus, Aleppo, Horns and Ha~a wi th the Lebanese ports of Beirut a.nd Tripoli, the Syrian port of Lata1da and the Turkish port of Iskenderun. To.t'le East, there are several junction points ,"lth tbe Turkish higb"lay network, 'to the South with Iraq roads and to the West with the Trans~Jordan and Isra~l highway systems. From Alep~o to Beirut and Damascus to :Beirut the roads run parallel to the railroad, "ri th several transfer points.

road e rteries are: PrinCipal Aleppo Aleppo Aleppo Horns pamascus

- Home - Damascus - Darea ~ Jordan - Raqqa - Deir ez Zor - Latakia - Tartouss - Tripeli (Lebanon)

Tripoli (Lebanon) -Oneida - Haifa (Israijl)

(1) U.N. Review of Economic' Conditions in the Middle East (Jan~3l,195l); see Table 1.

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(For a description of principal roads see Appendix A).

The extensive mileage of secondary roads and trails serve as feeder roads to the arterial roads.

Vehicle Fleet. ;

In 1948 there were 10,200 trucks and buses and 4,700 passenger cars registered in Syria. (1) Per 10.000 head of popnlatipn there were 27 trucks and buses and 12 passenger cars. The number of commercial vehicles is limited by the Gove~ent according ~o estimated requirements. A 25 % increase in the trnck fleet is ~der consideration by the Government, but is opposed by truck owners. (2) Trans-desert passenger and freight traffic is handled main­ly by six companies.(3}

Rate, and Qperating Costs.

Truck rates in Syria are appronmately as high as ill Latin America and nbcut four, t~mes higher than in the U.S. Yet, trnck tariffs pompare favor~blY with railro~d rates on a major commodity like grain. The base rate for cereals, e.g., from ~ichliye to Aleppo is ~.S. 5 per ton km. by truck, and ~.S. 8 per ton km. by rail. The high cost of highway transport reflects the high operational costs. This is mainly due to the ~gged topography (in the coastal district) and rough roads (in the interior). "'hich increase "lear and tear of the vehicle fleet as well as gas consumption. The time wasted on account of bad roads not only enhances the wage cost for the oper~to~ but also tends to limit the market for perishab~e goods, The Syrian truck tariffs call for a 20 % increase over the base rates on riQn-aSphalted routes. A U.S. study by comparison found an increase of 34.34 % in vehicle operating cost per mile as between an earth road and a paved hIghway. (4)

. High excise levies on gasoline and vehicle registration also raise vehicle o~erating costs. The tax pn ga$oline constitutes 66% of the selling price. (5) Although the tax on gas oil is only 10~ of the selling price (6). as yet there are few diesel trucks.

(1) lbid page 108.

(2) Dept. of Commerce, ]aai~ Highway Report (1949), page 7.

(3) Viz: Nairn Transport Co. (i4 vehicles). passenger & Freight. Rafidain Transport Co. (6 vehicles). passenger . Angurly Transport C<:h ~ same United Company for Trans·Desert Transport (passenger). Nathanail Transport Co. (15. vehicles; also rents trncks to

implement se~vices). Levant Express Transport Co. (2 large diesel trucks;also rents trucks)

(4) Hi h'-1a s & the l'l'ation's Econom - 8lst Congress,2nd Session, Joint Committee - print. Wa~h. 1950) page 18.

(5) The selling price is 34,75 piastres per liter:

(6) The selll~g price Is 13.18 p1astres per liter. (Source; International Road Fe!eration).

..

Improved roads "'QuId reduce significantly the cost of highway tran$­port~ It,should not be overiooked, however, that truck and bus trans~ort tariffs are not regulated by the Government and are set at "w'hat the traffic can bear". The Government l!l1ght well su.cceed in lO\1Tering truck tariffs by encouraging the establishment of ne,·! trucking companies or by imposi!l.g govern­mental control on the rates.

Administra.tion. .

. Main road arteries are administered py the Ministry of Public Works and Communicationsl Local roads are administered by the municipal authori­tiesl' working in. conjunction "dth the Ministry. (1) Within the iUnistr~", the Secretary General and the Director of Pup11c Works are in charge of a. high~ way organization. The highway system is divided in four main administrative regions, each headed by a chief engineer.

T~e regions are: (2)

The southern region comprising the districts of D~ascus, Hauran, Jebel-Druze, Horns and Hama. . The northern region compriSing the Alepp~ district; The western region comprising the Latakia district. The eastern region comprising the Jezira and Eu.phrates districts.

E~ch region is further divided into nine dis~ricts, headed by dis­trict engineers. Transport coordinatiQn, licensing of vehicles, safety regul~ ations~ etc., are under the Director of Communications~

. The four regional engineers submit annually their plans for highway construction and maintenance to the Mini stry of Public ',lorks for consider­ation. The highway program 1s then incorporated in the budget and ;mbmitted to Parliament for final approval.()) The works are carried out in nart through contractors, in part directly by the respective authorities.

Finance.

Highway maintenance and construction are cove~ed mainly by budget appropriations. FUel taxes and other ve~icle taxes are absorbed by the . Treasury and are nut earmarked for high~~y expenditures. (~) The 1950 Syrian road budget called for eXpenditures of 5.7 million Syrian Iounds, 1..S. 2.8 mil';" lion for maintenance and ~.S, 2.9 million for const~~ction. This was ~.s. 2 -~.S. J ml1iion lower than preceding years, mai;ly due to less construction investment. It is estimated that about .t.S. 4.5 million m~y be appropriated for maintenance and ~.S. 5 million for construction in the 1951 budget. (5) Tentative road expenditures for 1952~1955 amount to .t.S. 7~5 million annually. (6) .

(1) :Basic and Annual High-war Report; 01'. cit! page l: (2) SOUTce: I:BRD Mission. (3) :Basic and Annual Ifigllway Report. op~ Cit. page 5. (4) Basic and An,r.iul.High,,,ay Report, 01'. cit. page 4. (5) Ibid, page 5~ (6) Source; lBRD (P1r ~ l30 chen ski t s Re1'}ort of Feb 0 20,1951: liThe Economic

Situation and Credt tworthiness Of Syrian t page 23.

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. High''''ay expenditures increased sharoly during 1945-1948. In 1946 they were ~.S. 3.8 million, in 1947: L.S. 6.2 million and in 1948: L.S. 9.4 million. On an average highway expenditures were ab~ut 5 1 of the total bud­get expenditures or less than I ~ of national i~come. By comparison, expen­ditures of about 2 ~ of national income are considered necessary in the U.S. for adequate upkeep and improvement on highw~s. (1)

Cogst of Rgad Maintenance aUd Construction.

Work on roads in Syria is slow and costly. This is due to lack of mechanized equipment, hig~ ~ost of transporting road materials and difficul­ties of terrain and climate •. Reliance on hand labor results in frequent in­ter~~ptions of road works. Most of the workers are farm workers, employed on roads on a part~time basis. During the agricultural peak season, road labor is hard to obtain and wages are set in competition with the farm wages. The cost of road surfacing is further increased by the necessity of importing cement and asphalt to implement the local supply.

The cost of road matntenance, road improvements and ne'" road con­struction vari.es widely according to the location and standards of the road. The annual cost of maintenance per.kilometers, sa estimated by the Gibb Com­pany (2), is about ~.S. 600 for arterial roads, L.S, 500 for secondary roads and ~.S. 100 for dry-weather roads. The cost of road improvemen~ in the Je­zira as estimated by the Gibb company is about ~.S.30,OOO per km. and as estimated in the project submitted to the Bank, about ~.S.45tOOO. The cost of new road construction in mountainous terrain is estimated in the project at about ~.S.70,OOO.

Road Develonment Programs.

ThE: lI]ankll Pro.iect. . The Bank has been approac~ed to finance the foreign exchange re­

quirements of a five year development program in SYria. (3) Total cost of the program is estimated at n. S, 26.6 of which the foreign e~change require­ments would be ~.S. 6.7 or about 25 ~ of total cost. At the free rate of exchange, the proposed loan from the Bank wo~ld be about.$ 2.milli9n.(4) The local curr~ncy cost estimated at ~.s. 19.9 millton is to be covered by a speciaf law authorizing highway expenditures of ~.s,26.6 million. The re­maining b,S. 6.7 ml.ll!on would be used for other unspecified "greatly needed" projects.

(1) (2)

(3) (4)

Public Roads Study, Ope cit., page 38. Sir Alexander G1bb & Partner: liThe Economic Development of Syria"(1947)

page 107. See Tabl e II. The ~pen market rate. (Feb. 2l,1951) is 3.50 Syrian·Po~ds per u.S.

Dolla.r (I.H.F.). The official exchange rate is 2.20. The free rate is mostly used.

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The project falls in three parts, as fo~lows:

Length in km. Cost (L.S .. )

A. Improvement of existing roads in the Jezira. 465 20,834,000

:B. Improvement of existing roads in the Ghab Valley 105 ::,3,666,000

C. Construction of a section of the Tartouss-Akkari road abo JO(l) 2,100,000

TOTAL: . ab. 600 26,600,000

Cost per km (L,S.·

44,804

34,914

ab.70,000(2)

The aim of the ~ezira and Ghab Road program is to provide roads suitable for the expected i~creases in traffic resulting from the agricul­tural development schemes. The task is mainly one of realignment and re­surfacing of existing .roads. The Tarouss-Homs projects conM:at of constr1.l.cti~ a new link between Tartouss and ~~kari to.avoid the present double crossing of the Lebanese frontler and to reduce the distance by about 25 km.

other Road Projects.

It is not clear what o~her road projects the Syrian Government plans to carry out besides the three projects submit.ted to the :Bank, although several proposals have been made. Of particular importance are the proposed improvements on the Aleppo ... Latakiaroad, sinc~ this project , .. ould be closely tied to the Port of Latakia. development program. Road development proposals have been made by the U.N .. Survey tv1ission, th~ U, S.J3ureau of Public Roads, and the British Consulting Engineering firm Sir Alexander Gibb and Company, These programs are described briefly in Appendix :B.

(1)

(2)

Deducted from map only. The total stretch Tartouss-Akkari ~s about 40 km •• of \,mich about 10 km. appears presently to be a.sphalted~

The high cost of construction is due to mountainou.s terrain.

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Importance.

The state-o\'med Syrian raih'ays perform an im:09rtant transyort task, but they are, on the whole, secondary to road transport. Road trans­port offers savings in cost and time on many commodities. In addition the railroads are limit~d in extent, have tew branch lines and require costly and time consuming transfers because of the simu1tapeous existence of narrow and standard gauges. Inadequate renewals and lack of proper maintenance characterized the railroads in the inter-war period. With accelerated. wear and tear during World War II rolling stocle, trades, etc. deteriora~ed further, and constant deficits have hampered the work of the railroad officials. The quality of railroad service, conse~ently. has been on the decline.

Description and Extent.

Historically, the Syrian railroads were constructed for political and strategic reasons in the time of the ottoman Empire, which was ur:Li:mlpered by national frontiers.

. The rail network within the present borders of Syria falls into

three railway systems, all of which form a part of an interna~ional nettlork. (1) The most important railway system is the Damas~Hama Railroad (D.H.P.), con~ necting Aleppo and Damascus \,l~th the port of Beirut (Lebanon). Its useful­ness as an artery Damascus-Aleppo is lilpited, hot",ever, because of the necessi­ty of transfer between gauges. The Redjaz Railway (C.F.I:I.) ~n the South con­nects with the port of Haifa and Jordan. The Baghdad Railway (L.S.].) along the Turkish border connects Aleppo ,11th Istanbul and ]aghdad.

'. Th~ Syrian :oarts of the three systems ~ggregates about 870 km., or about 0.7 km. per 100 sq.km. (2), of which 307 km. cons~st of narrow gauge lines (1.05 M) and 561 km.(3) of standard gauge lines. The density o~ rail­ways is less than in Turkey, but exceeds Iran and Iraq_

Cost of Rail Services.

The cost of !ail transport in Syria is considerab~y higher, than in some of the other ~~ddle Eastern countries. The tariff for grain in wagon lo~s per ton km. on ~ distance of 100-250 km. is thus ~.S. 10:- in Syria, compared with ~.S. 4.10 in Iran, ~.S. 0.83 in Iraq and h.S. 1.13 in Egy.-pt. (4)

(3) (4)

See Table UI. 0#86 km. per,lOO sq.km. if deserts are excluded. Source: U.}T. Review of Economic Cond! tions in the J..fidd1e East (1951)

(-page 104).' See Table III. Gibble Report, o~. cit •• page 112.

Finances.

Although the. tariff rates are at a high level, the high cost of railway opera~ions in the mountainous terrain creates ~ financia~ loss for most railroad services. The deficit of the Damas-Hama railroad in 1947 was thus about $1.4 million, that of the Hedjaz Raih"lay $0.4 million. (1) In, addi tion to covering these deficits, the State had to pay dismissal allo,,,ance to discharged employees on the Syrian section of the Baghdad Railway (2).

The Chemin de Fer Damas-Hama et Prolon~ement.

The D.H.P. oper~tes a. 1:29 lon. standard gauge line from Aleppo to Hama, Hams and Rayak (Lebanon). A branc};l line from Homs connects 'dth the port of Tripoli (Lebanon). From Rayak, the D.H.P. operates a line thl'ough Lebanese territory to the port of B~irut. Rayak is also the transfer ~oint to the narrow. gauge railroad to Damascus. Between Beirut and Damascus the railro~d climbs from aea level to 4,953.feet and part of the li~e consitts of rack rail s. MaxlllI\lm grades are 7 % and curves are as sharp as 100 meter radius. Passenger trains on the 150 km. stretch take 11 hours. ()

. The D.H.P. is operated by a private French Company: "Societe Fran-Qaise du Chemin de Fer Damas Hama et Prolongement", with headquarters in Paris. The present charter of the company is included in the annex of the LausC'nn~ Treaty (1925) but the company may be traced back through several reor~anizat1ons to 1892. (4) The first portion of the railway was opened in 1895.(5) The conce~sion of the French company expired in 1943 but was extended to 1948 because the road was under military jurisdiction and oper­ation during 1940-1944. (6)

D.H.P. Traffic.

Traffic on the D.H.P~ h~s steadily declined since the war. The annual, average of freight handled during the 1946-19~9 'Period \.,ras 77 mi~,lion tons kilometer, compared with 116.5 million ton kilometer during the +942-194fi 'Period. In 1949 the traffic performance totalled 58.8 million ton kilometer(9) The passenger carrying performance was ~8 million passenger kilometer.

Li~es SV'ienne~ de Chemin de Fer du Hed,jaz.

The C.F.R. Railway extends from Damas~s to Medina(Arabia), but the last stretch to Medina is no longer in operation •. The 145-miles Syrian section has been Government-o\1Ued and operated.since March 1, 1945.(8) The first part of the railroad was opened to traffic in 1904. (9)

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

(7)

t~~

Public Roads stu4Y, op.cit.,page 35. Apout L.S.300,OOO. The staff was reduced from 1,670 to 1.370 men! Public Road Studies, op.,cit., pages 35-;6. S. Essaleh: ttI/ etat actual de Economie S;o:ienne(l?aris), page ZOO. The Rail'~ Gazette, Oct.2.1936, page 516. No reports have been available to sho\V' whether the State actually took

over the operation i~ 1946. . U.N. Monthly ]Ulletin of Statistics, May 1950, page IJ8.See Table rv. Universal Director, OPt Cit. page 278l Railway Gazette, Oct.2, 1940. page 51c.

,

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The Lii2!{~s Syriennes de Baghdad.

. The L.S.B. connects Baghdad with Istanbul. The ra.ilway runs close to the S~Ti~n frontier with Turkey and Iraq and crosses the border several times. 3yrian cities connected by the L.S.B. are Aleppo, Djerabloys and ~amich:lye. Aleppo is thus a transfer point between the L.S.B. and the D.H.P.

The Syrian Government owns and operates the Syrian section of the line ar.d an agreement with Turkey and Iraq in )tray 1948 established the poli ... cies fqr joint operation of the remainder of the Baghdad Railway. (1)

Development Plans.

Several railway development plans have received Government attention. A decision as to their possible execution seems pending. The development plans may be thus. classified:

1. Rehabilitation of present facilities. 2! Construction of new railroads in conne~tion with other

development schemes. 3. Some standardization of railway gauges.

~ A study of a technical committee on the rehabilitation cost of the Hedjaz Railway (1946-1947) revealed that the bare minimum of nroVisional re­construction woUld cost about 3:1. S: 6 million. "'hil~ about !'. S. 10 million would be the total estimated cost. With the inflationary situation, hmITever, these cost estimates may have to be revised upward. No capital improvements o~ the railroad have been undertaken since 1940. (2)

~ Most important in this catego~y seems to be the nlan for railroad construction in the Jezlra calling fo~ the construction of 790 km.of rail­road at a total estimated cost of D.S. III million, including also the cost of nece~sary additional rolling stock. In ad~ion, a railroad brigde across the Euphrates "!QuId cost about h.S.5 million, making a total cost of b.S.116 million. To link Aleppo with Latakia \vould require new construction of 206 kID. using about 14 km. of the existing line Aleppo-Horns. The cost of construction and of the necessary operating equipment and rolling stock is estimated at b:S. 34 million.

..:b.. . In regard to railway gauge standardization, the scheme to ayoia the transfers at Rayak for traffic between Da."!lascus and Aleppo is the most im­portant. It is propose~ to realign the distance of 75.4 km. narrow gauge line between Damascus and Rayak i~ order to permit the operatton of both standard and narrow gauge trains. The cost has been estimated at z.S. 1.8 million with sharp curves and il.S. 2.5 millton "lith "'ider curves. (3)

Articles of Agreement annexed, to Rfilport no, 179 fror.:l'~the U. S.Legation in Damascus (June 25,1948). Sourcet Dept, of Commerce.

Foreign Commerce Weeklx. Sept.l1, 1948. page 35. Gibb's Report. 01'. cit •• pages 110 ... 111.

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The railway development schemes all require large invest~en~s. These should be preceded b7 a detailed o~st analysis of current and anti­cipate~ traffic and of completing road and r~~lroad transport sbhemes. In general, railroad construction is warranted only fo~ a large traffic volume. It appears that some rehabilitation of existing railway services, coupled with administrative and f~nancial re$orms (e.g. abandonment of unprofitable services tariff reforms) would be the primary task to improve the usefulness of the rail system.

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III. P~TS

Importance.

Oce~nborne foreign trade is of major illr90rtance to Syria, 1r!hich a18.0 serves as a country of transit for nart of the oceanborne foreign trade of Iraq:. But Syria has only partly ~heltered lighterage ports like Latakia and Tartouss to serve her foreign trade, and small, open roadsteads, like Banias and Djeble for co&stal traffic.

Beirut-Latakia Traffic.

Syria's lack of efficient, de~-,~ater ports is partly due to the lack of natural harbors on her coastl~net but mainly to historic and economic factors: Syria was United with Lebanon pol~tieal1y until 1943 and for cus­tom purposes unt11 Apr11 1950. The bulk of Syria's foreign trade has tradi­tionally been handled by the port of Beirut. The sheltered, deep-water port of Beirut is linked to the main Syrian cities by road and railroad, and possesses mechanized cargo equipment, ample storage space, ship repair faci­Ii ties, etc.

About half of the "Ore-war foreign trade at Beirut(some 400,000 tons per year) ~r,as Syrian., (i) About 300,000-60,000 tons(2), mostlyex­ports, went through Lata.ltla, and a small part through Tartouss and the Turkish ~ort of Iskenderun.

In 1948'total traffic at Beirut,was 892,000 tons, of which 77),000 tons were imports. Latakia traffic was 25t OOO tons (mostly imports), which is in contr3.st with the pre-war situation.

In 1949 Beirut's traffic increased by 55,000 tons and in 1950 by about 85,000 tons, reaching a level of about one million tons. Lataki~ traffic increased nearly six-fold during 1949. mainly due to the tremendous develonment of exPorts from 6,000 tons in 1948 to 122,000 tons in 1949. The increased trnffic- in Latakia in 1949 ,,,as probably due to a poUcy of using Latakia for governmental shipments and to encourage private traders to fo11o,,r suit. A considerable amo~nt of Syrian trade \·Jas also handled by Bei­rut in 1949 and. the increases in imports. both in Beirut and L~takia, '··ere probably partly to meet immediate demands in Syria and Lebanon, and ~artly to hoard gqods in anticipation of scarcities and higher prices,

In 1950, exports through,Latakia increased to 147,000 tons, while imports more than quintupled, reaching_118,ooo tons. 5.otal cargo loaded and unloadAd thus reached 265,000 tons. with the break of the Customs Union with L~"Janon in April 1950 and "!lntil the Commercial Agreement was signed in December 1950, S;trian trade was channelled through Latakia to ttLe ex­tent it was physically possible. Cargo thus discharged rose from 2,000 to~s in April to 8,000 in May and reached a peak of 17,000 tons in July~ Exoorts rose simultaneously, but here se~sonal factors may also have played a part.

There is nO,breakdown in the statistles of Beirut for traffic destined for Syria.

See Table V. It i& not ~ecified whether these traffic statistics also include coast",ise trade.

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According to the December 1950 Commercial Agreeme~tt trade between Lebanon and Syria \rllt be re~ed subject to customs duties. Beirut having a free port, transit trade consigned to Syrian importers ,nll still be free from Lebanese customs. The 'Part of Syrian transit trade vhich used Lebanese merchants as midd1ement will, however, be hit by Lebanese custom levi~s. Syrian exports through Lebanon via the port of ::Beirut could ap:oarently be shipned 111 bond through Lebanese territory to the free port at Beirut.

Port of Latakia Capac1tl'

The peak level of e~orts and imports of about 30,000 metric tons in July 1950 (1) about equalled the lighterage capacity of the port estima.ted at 1,000 - 1,200 tons per day. The average daily load handled by the l'ehter­age fleet in 1950, \~s 800 tons,

Facilities.

Cargo is loaded and unloaded by the' shi'P t s own ge~r and lighters of 50-70 gross tons bring the c~rgc to and from the quay (2). The depth at the harbour entrace is 8 meters. Small vesselS, drawing a maxima~ of 3~4 meters, can moor at the j~tties. The average size of oceangoing v.~ssels. visiting the port in 1950 was 1,400 net registered tons. There are n(; bunkers or ship repair facill ties. Description of storage facilities is lacking.

The port of Latakia is conpected with Aleppo by a part gravel, part asphalt road and with Tartouss bY' an asphalt road. The standards and the condition of these roads are unknown.

Finances. .

Income and expenditure accounts for the port of Lataki~ have not been available. On the basis of nort charges related to traffic returns, the 1950 port income from dues may be estimated roughly at ~.S.2.5,- J million. Port charges for a 1,400 net registered tons vessel are (3): "

Stevedoring.

Light cbar~es Anchorage (for each 72 hr. period) Qp.arantine and harbour dues

l1. S. :per Net Registered Ton

5.4 0:045 0.70

Stevedoring at Latakia is left to concessioned firms. Since hand­ling charges for cargo are ~own it is impossible to assess the cost per ton of shipping cargo through Lata~ia at the present t1:.;, nor can estimates be made of possible savings in cargo handling costs by increased mechanization.

ll) See Table VI. (2) Ports of the World (published by the Shipping World) (London,1950),p.929. (3) Ports of the Wor~dt Ope cit., page 9Z9.

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The Latakia Port Development Plan.

. The post-war political situation has given added weight to the long cherished Syrian plan of developing Latakia into a modern, deep-\qater port. A~ the request of the Syrian Govern~ent the engineering firm of Sir Alexander Gibb & Company has drawn up a program for ~atakia port develop­ment (1). The main features are;

It The construction of a main western bre~ater, 1.450 meters long and a northern breakwater, 600 meters long.

2. The construction of 900 meters of quays. The main ~v will accommodate two cargo vessels of 10,000 - 15,000 D. II. T. and two or three smaller vessels. The quay on the main break­water will accommodate two large vessels and the quay on the lee breakwater will have berths for two large vessels.

3. Dredg~ng of the harbour area allo~dng for a depth of 8-9 me­ters at the main quay and 11 meters at the moorings in the basin. .

4. Construction of transit sheds and warehouses, and acquisition of mechanical cargo-handling facilities.

. The program will cover a five-year period. divided into t,·ro stages, the main breakwater being the major item to be completed in the first three years.

Overall Cost.

~ne total f~ve-y~ar program is estimated to cost £.S. 28.5 million. The first stage alone. is calculated at ~~S. 15 million. About 25-30 ~ of the total cost, or about D.S. 7.5 mil1ion(Z) constitutes the envisaged foreign exchange expenditures.

Inland Transport Connections.

It should be noted that the cost of, ,improving inland port connections is not included in the cost of the program, although it is essential to ac- . commodate the anticipated increase in port traffic. The cost of constructing a ne\,r railway between Latakia an~ Aleppo is estimated at D. S. 34 million (3). No cost estimat~$ for the necessary improvements to the existing road between Latakia and Aleppo are aVl:dlable. It appears, ho\·!ever, that road im:orovement will be the more economical alternat~ve, and that access to the ~ort 'by a railroad could be postponed until such time "'hen tre.ffic had increased beyond the capacity of the improved highway.

(1) Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners; Latakia Harbour project (London, 1948) (2) Official rate 2.20 t free rate 3,50. (3) See above.

Main Categories of Eependitures.

The main categories of expenditures are (1):

I. II~ IU.

Harbour ,,,orks Plant and equipment Communications and services

" Million Syrian Pounds

24~75 2,77 1.10

TOTAL: 28.62

. Chief items in and dredging operatio~s. etc. In the third group, area are pro"Tided for.

the first category are the breab~ters, quays, Sheds Category II includes cranes, workshops, li~~ters. utilities and road improvements inside the harbour

• B:r a de.cree of February 12, 1950 the Syrian Government created a joint stoc~ company for the construction and improvement of the port of ~a­takia. The capital of the company is set at 240,000 shares of hundred Syrian pounds each, part of "vhich 'vas offered publicly for sale on July 1, 1900. It is understood that the private investors did not show any enthusiasm and that the Government will have to shoulder the financing of the program.

. . The company has a fifty-ye?X concession with annual aaortization

of 2.1/2 %. All property and assets of the company will revert to the Government at the end of this period.

The Syrian Govern~ent appointed a provisional board of directors for the development company. Three of the directors of the board resigned shortly thereafter and no more reports have been received since then on the progress of negotiations for the commencement of the expansion program.

It is understood that the ~ank may be ap~roached to finance part of the Latakia nort development program.

Reasons for Port Development.

The Syria~ Government seems determined to go ahead with the develop­ment of Latakia and undoubt~dly the question of national prestige plays a part in this de~ire. From a strategic standpoint, it 1s precarious to be dependent:)n a foreign port. Economically, delays at the frontier increase transport costs. Because of its proximity to Aleppo, the Ghab Valley, the Jezira and the :Ei.tjrhrates Valley, Lapakia - if equipped ''lith adequate port and inland transport facilities - should be able to handle traffic from these areas more economically than Beirut. The shorter distance between Damascus and Beirut would favor continued use of Beirut for the Damascus area. As for the interlylng cities of Homs and H~a, it seems possible that part of their trade would be directed towards Aleppo, but that the established connections with Beirut also shOUld be continued.

(1) Gibb's Latakia Report, op. cit. t AppendiX III, page 19.

-15-

The economic jnstification of the Latakia development program thus hinges on the development of the Aleppo, Ghab, Jezira and Euphrates areas. The bulk of the foreign trade to be generated in these areas after the com­pletion of the program would be the export of cereals, plus some cotton and vegetables. No authoritative estimates of the anticipated export levels are available. On the assumption that most exports of the agriCQltura1 products were channelled through Latakia in 1950. the 1950 export level of almost 150,000 tons might be used as a basis for a traffic forecast. If nroduction should increase so as to dov.b1e the export volume, and if we assume an import level of about 100,000 tons, we would arrive at a total traffic forecas~ of about 400,000 tons annually. This is the capacity of the port envisaged by the Gibb Company after the completion of the entire development program. How difficult it is to estimate port capacity is illustrated by the fact that the initial capacity of the improved port is set by G~bb's at 200,000 tons, which is 50.000 tons less than the actual performance in 1950, ,men it was still a lighterage port. In a note to the Bank (1) Mr. Cra~ord has es­tima~ed the potential export volume through Latak1~ at about 650,000 tons annually and import at 100,000 - 150,000 tons, making a total of about 800,000 tons. This estimate appears to be very optimistic.

Because of the inadequacy of the economic data currently available~ no firm conclusion as to the economic justification of the Latak~a port development program can be reached. The informaticn mainly needed for pr9per ana1y~is appears to be:

l~ A survey of the present and notent1a1 foreign trade of the Aleppo, Ghab t Jezira and Euphrate~ districts.

2: Present and estimated future balance sheet of the financial operations .of the port of Latakia. .

3, Cost analysis of the alternatives of road rehabilitation or railroad construction to link Latakia with Aleppo.

4. An estimate of ~~rrent costs of shipping main types of 9argo (imports, exports) through Latakia and of the possible savings to be accomplished through port improvements.

(1) Note to Loan Department, December 15, 1950; ttLatakia Port I! •

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IV. Pll?llLINES

The IITJ\P Line It , Arabian Ame~ican Oil comPanY" s Trans-Arabian pipeline, was opened December Z, 1950. This 1,068.2 miles JC/)l inch line runs north-westerly from Q.u,aisumah in Saudi Arabia to the port of §jidon in Lebanon, traversing Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon. (1) Conces­sions to bul1d the pipeline were obtained. from each of these states. The pipeline has an estimated initial capacity of 300.000 barrels of oil ~er day or about 15 million tons per year (2).

A pipe line from Xir~ to Banyas on the Syrian coast is now under construetion. Another pipeline from the South Persian fields to the Syrian port of Tartouss is contemp~ated. The Syrian right of waY' has been ob­tained for both lines, but the Iraq Government 1s holding back on the con­cession for the seco~d line. When completed, these three lines and two small lines now operating from Xirkuk \'!111 carry 1,466,000 barrels per da;T to the Mediterranean.

Construction of a large 011 refinery on the Syrian coast is also under consideration and Syrian coneession for the project has been obtained.

1ruLl-Tew York Ti~, December 3 and 5, '1950, lithe capacity can be in­creased to 500,000 barrels per day".

The Oil Forum, June 1950, page 224.

I· .

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V. AVIAt.rION

IIJlPortance.

International air passenger service is of great importance to Syria (1). but there is as yet little,internal and regional passenger service. A fe,,,, local flights have been started between Damascus and Alep"po via :Bei­rut, ~d pilgrims are flown to Jiddah. However, these local air lines have not been carrying mail and the amount of freight carried is rather insigni­ficant. (2)

National Air Line.

The only Syrian Air Line 1s the Gpvernment-owned Syrian Airways Corporation. (3) It was formerly a private company but was taken over by. the Government during the Palestine host~lities. The fleet, consisting of three DC-JI S was reconditioned for commer9ial operations in the Spring of 1949. Services were initiated July 26,1949 with w~ekly flights from Damascus to Bei­rut, Aleppo and Hasetche and return. In the pilgrimage season, two planes were diverted to flights to Jiddah (Arabia).

. The Syrian Airways are flo\'m by air force pilots (4), or by foreign pilots. A Damaspus travel agency. Karnak, is in charge of the dailY manage­ment. Statistics for passenger miles flown are not ava~lable, and accounting methods are poor. It is probable, however, that the air services are per­formed at a considerable net loss to the Government (5).

International Air Lines.

International airlines, operating regular services to Damascus are BOAC (6), X.L.M •• S.A.S. and Air France.

. International airlines complain that exorb~tant Syrian gasoline

taxes make services to Damascus un~:rofi table~ Complaints are also 'Voiced about the inadequacy of airport and hotel facilities. Pan American has in­stalled a radio-telephone. at its own expense t but lack of adequate safety regulations, particularly regarding military pfanes. add to the grievances of international airlines. Pan-Am and.Air France s,,,ltched their operations to Beirut at the completion of its h~w airport. Beirut is also a better traffic generating point than Damascus.

u) (2) (J)

(4) (5) (6 )

D~t. of Commerc~ Report 77 (Sept. 7,1948) "Civil Aviation Rates of Pan American Airways".

D7Pt. of Commerce, Report from Damascus received August 3, 1949. Dept. of Commerce, Report 206 from Damascus (April 11,1950) "Annual

Ci vil1:Ayia tion' Repo'rt ~I • Dept. of Commerce. Report no. 206,.op. cit. . On the :v,ndon-I-fal tat .1)amaseus .... Ba37a-Ku\\fal tBahrein route (Report no. 98i

Damascus. Dec. 2J, 1947), "C1vil Avia.tion. S;yTia, Third Quarter 1948".

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Several moves have been made to abolish the high Syrian gasoline taxe. but ,\Ii thout mccese so far. The Syrian Government has taken vigorous measures, however, to im~rove airport facilities at the international air­port of Mezae t outside Damascus.

Ay1.ation agreements ~d th Turkey and Greece were signed in 19~9 (1) and bilatera~ agreements have been concluded with the U.S., the U,K. and the. Netherlands, Ratification of such agreemtt.ts rests with the Parliament. (2) Syria ratified the International Civil Aviation Convention June 20, 1949 (3).

Alrp")rt Expenditures.

At the peginning of 1950 the Syrian Government appropriated one million S,rian Pounds in addition to the regular budget grants. for the £.lene airport expansion. The improvements '~ll include expansion of air stri~s, improved n~v1gation aids, a new terminal and a control tower (4). In 1949 about o~e million Pounds had been appropriated from the budget for all Syrian airports (5),of which z.s. 600,000 ($200,000) (6) was allocated to the Mezza airport.

The Nayrab airfield near ~eppo and the Qwamashliyah airport are also to be improved.

(1)

(2) (3) (4) (5) (6)

Dent. of Commerce. Report no. 44, Damascus Aug.z6.l949: IICiyil AViation, SyTia/ t (J\1ne 1949):'. -. . Dept. of 90mmerce ~epor~ no. 217 (Damascus, April 14, 1950). Report no. 206, op. cit. Report no. 206, op. cit. Ibid. Dept. of Commerce Report no. 44 (DamasCus, Aug.26.l949:

"C1v11 :.T.ia.t1on - Syria (June 1949)".

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Extent of Road Srstems, .Selected Countries 1~ th~ ,~~t~i~ast

Country Year

C¥prus 1947

1945

Iran 1945

Iraq 1945

Israi!1 1950

Jordan 1947

Lebanon 1948

Palestine 1945

Syria 1948

Turkey 1948

Source: For Cyprus: For Egypt: For iran: For Iraq! For !era!!l:

For Jordan:

For Lebanon 8: Syria:

Total Length. ot' Length Asphalted Per lOQ Per 100 Per (Kilo- Roads square squaTe !M. 10,000 meters) (Kiloma- Kilometers Not inclu.ding 11U'1ab1.~

ters) Deserts t~ts • f

4,160 1,150 45,2 45.2 83~2

12, 444a) 1,2 24.8 6,6

2:3.000 1,680 1,4 118 1:3,,3

6, 409 2,400 1,4 2,1 13.:3

1,975 9t 5 1:3,0 16,0

600b) 0,6 :3t6 151'0

4,046 1,917 40 t 5 40.5 :33,7

2,660b) 10,2 15r 6 14,0

7,8:37 2,4:31 6,1 7,8 23,1

20,993c ) 2.8 2.8 11.1

"Colonial Annual Reports, "Cyprus, 1947 Ministry of Finance, lI~nuaire Statistique de Poche". Ministry of Communications, IIFive Year Programlf (In Fersian). IIStatesman f s Yearbooktl •

II Isra61, . Documents, Facts & Figures" (Diplomatic Press, London 1950) •. U.S.Dept. of Commerce, International Reference Service "Trans­Jordan ll •

Ministry of National Economy, "Recueil de Statis~iquell (Beirut)

For Palestine:Government of Palestine, "A Survey of Palestineilf •

For Turkey: Central Statistical Office, "Istatistik YHligi".

a) ItFarm Roads"; excludes several hundred kilometers of go;d roads built in desert areas; includes 2, 314 ~ilometers of lIf1rst-class roads".

b) All-weather roads only.

c) InCludes 11,869 kilometers of roads "in good condition".

The Jezira Road Improvem-en-t .. Program •.

A. Present 'ondition of Roads.

I. (; ~ m.) Asphal t pavement Macadam pavement Asphal t pavement

II .. (4 m.) Asphalt pavement Soling only

in poor

Stabilized earth roads

Total

condition

Asphalt pavement in very poor condition Macadam pavement in poor condition Asphalt pavement in fair condition

Total

II! , (6 mt) Soling only Total

I l. (4 Ill,) Soling only Stabilized earth road

(4 m.) Soling only

kin. 14

9 24 ~

21 8

15 13 29

4 90

60

14: 12,5 11.5

Total 38.0

V p (6 mt ) Soling only Total 30

VI. (4 m:) Asphalt pavement in fair condition 8 (4 m.) Asphalt pavement in very bad condition 20

VII. (

Stabilized earth road 16 Embankment 16 Desert track 60

:Embankment Desert track

Total 120

Total

20 60 80

13. Works to be Undertaken

Embankments and Ctllverts Widening of embankments and culverts

l'l1dening of pavement Stabilization Soling Metal and ,Asphalt

For Road Projects

VI and VI! It II. III, V. VI. VII It II, VI, VII V, VI II. III, IV, VI, VII I, II, III, VI, VII

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'l'A13LE I II

SYrian Railways and Oonneetipg Lines.

A. Narro,,, Gauge (1.05) Lines (In Kilometers)

'l'ran s jordan

DAMASCUS-DERAA ... HAIFA

Damascus - Deraa Deraa - El Hemmeh El Hemmeh - Haifa

. 123.3 65.,

DERAA-BOSRA ECB CHAM 39.5

DAl'lASCUS - .Am'iAN

Deraa - Frontier Frontier - Amman

Damascus - Rayak Ray~~ - Beirut Port

14.8

306.5

80.2

80.2

Palestine Lebanon

95.5

82.0

95.5 82.0 ---------------------~~---------------~------~----

B. Standard Gauge (1.435i~) Lines (In Kilometers) "

RAYAK - :BAAL:BEN - HOlvIS HOMS - TRIPOLI HOYtS - ALEl?pe

ALEPPC - ALEXA11DRETTA

Aleppo - Frontier Frontier - Alexandretta

ALEPPO ... MOSUL

Syria

117.9

Mus1imieh - Frontier 64,4 Frontier - Nissibin

Turkey

145

381 .. 5

Iraq Lebel,lon

90.3 46.3

Nisslbin-Te1 Kotcheok-Mosu1:-~81~.~0~ ______ ~ __ ----______ ~1~1=2~ ____________ __

560.6 526.5 112 136.6

Source, Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners, The Economic Development of Syria (1947), pages 108-109,

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C. Gradients

Section Maximum Gradient i

Damaseus - Deraa up: 18: 1,000 do ... m: 13: 1,000

Deraa - Haifa up 15: 1,000 down 20: 1,000

Damaseus - Rayak up 25; 1,000 down )0; 1,000

Rayak - Beirut up 60; 1,000 rack line down 70: 1.000 II It

Rayak - Aleppo up 12: 1,000 down 12: 1,000

Horns - Tripoli up 20: 1,000 down 12~ 1,000

Aleppo - Maidan Ekbes up 20-: 1,000 down 23: 1,000

Aleppo - Mosul up 12: 1,000 down 8: 1,000

Source: Sir Alexander Gibb & Partners-: liThe Economic Development of Syriall

(1947), pages 108-109.

Average year:

Average

-23-TAl31.E IV

Goods and Passen~er Traffic on the Chemin de Fer Damas Harna at Pro1on~ements.

Year

1942

1943

1944

1945

1946

1947

1948

1949

1942-1945

1946-1949

Millions Pass. 104,

79,20

60,60

53!04

42~72

42,00

38,88

33,84

17.88

58,92

33.12

Tons lOf.

117,12

105,84

131,40

111,48

95,52

80,16

74,76

58.80

116:52

77.28

Source: U.N. Monthly Bulletin of Statistics, May 1950.

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TABLE V.

.. Year Cargo Discharged Cargo L~ded Total

.... ' .. . ....... _; ~! #,;r'~;~t::,~1s~:lo.w •• ; ... :ar,Y;ta~~".iik}n)iU t &l1?tt:t;ig ~sl 1938 11.220 19,563 30.783 1939 18,686 43,686 62,372 1940 5,256 9. "1:"7 14,973 1941 1,884 1,550 3,434 1942 786 1,569 2,355 1943 1,543 391 1,934 1944 2,376 ),435 5,811 1945 729 10,044 10,773 1946 2,775 7,880 10,655 1947 5,212 13,679 18,891 1948 18,536 6,389 24,925 1949 23,899 122,206 146,105 1950 117,955 146,7)1 264,686

De1rut Port Movements: 1229-1250 (2} •

Cargo Discharged Cargo Loaded Total Year (Metric ~t:)nE' J (Metric Tons) (Metric Tons)

1939 522,000 110,400 632,400 1940 264,000 50,300 314,]300 1941 183,600 21,100 204,700 1942 279,600 15,600 295,200 1943 156,000 10,800 166,800 1944 86,400 30,400 116,800 1945 127,200 36,600 163,800 1946 300,000 86,800 386,800 1947 487,200 62.900 520,100 1948 772,800 119,,300 892,100 1949 805,200 141,600 946,800 1950 835,100 197,000 1,032,100

(~) SaureeC Bureau des Docum~ntatiQns Syriennes et !Tabes (premiere Anne no.5

(2) U.N. Statiatica! ]ul1etin.

"

.. 2:;- . TABLE vi.

Port of Latakia, Vessel Entrances and Clearances,

Cargo Unloaded and Loaded

Year 1950(By Month).

A. Oceangoigg Vessels:

ARRIVALS

Net Month No. of Registered Cargo Dis- ~To. of

Vessels Tons of charged Vessels Vessels. ~Metric Tonsl

January 7 11,620 2,028,441 10 February 5 8,676 500,146 5 March 12 18,585 4,967,000 10 April 24 26,289 2,186,943 24 May 30 39,975 8,149,831 31 June 34 52,074 12,541,655 34 July 36 52,696 17,414,989 37 August 26 36,491 11,574,261 26 September 35 53,160 12.722,534 37 October 35 57, ~'l5 15,155,448 32 'November 28 37, e85 11,992,792 27 Dee:::mber 23 35,618 4,023.217 25

Total: 295 430,284 103,257.257 298

]3. Small Crafts: Total: 818 22,524 14.698,680 787

Q.RAND TOTilL: 452,808 117,955,937

DEPARTURES

Net Registered Cargo Tons of loaded Vessels {!:Ietric Tonal

17,280 18,696,496 8,676 1,696,031

15,378 2,220,000 27,904 10,046,558 40,877 13.974,039 51,017 16,355,527 54,443 12,689,281 41,470 11,059,348 52,556 16,656,967 55,057 12,144,820 33,9l.i6 8,880,629 38,136 10,624,996

4)6,740 135,044,692

20,319 11,686,739 _. __ .

457,059 146,731,431 -------------------------~--------~-~--------------------------------------

Source: "Bureau des Documentations Syrltnnes at Arabes, Dams, 1950~

..

APPENDIX A.

I

Routes in S~ia(ll.

Route 1 - Coastal route, Lebanon border to Turkish border:

This road is 117 miles in length. From the Lebanon b~rder to Tar­touss the road runs close to the sea behind a belt of sand dunes. For 11 miles north of Tartouss the road follpws the foot of the hills about one and a half miles from the sea, and then returns to the sea where. from Ras Hasan to ]enias there is just room for the road. North of Banias the route is inland from two to four miles and is about 100 feet above the sea. North of Lataltia the route traverses undulating topography and cll~bs to 500 feet elevation at one point then drops abruptlY to the Nahr el Kandtl valley, then climbs again to the Tur~ish border, 36 miles north of Latakia. The surface is 10-foot bitu­minous to three miles north of Latakia, where it becomes a broken limestone surface.

Major bridges include the two span, 162-foot concrete bridge across the southern Nahr el Kebir located near the Lebanon border~ the l16-foot iron bridge acr9ss the Nahr et Rus, 20 miles north of Banias; and a two span, 122-foot concrete bridge across the nor·thern Nahr el Kebir three miles sou.th of Latakia. All streams are bridged.

Route 2 - Deraa-Damascu.s-Homs-Aleppo~ ,;, .

This road has a bituminous ~rface thToughout its 282-ml1e length With a wi~th of 15 feet between Homs and Aleppo. The most important bridge is 450 feet long and consists of 12 ~asonry arches over the Orontes River at Rastan. Other streams are cro~sed by masonry or concrete structures having a length of less than 80 feet. There are no steep grades on the first 66 miles to Damascus, the capital.

The road to Homs passes through Duma (10.000 population) and fol~o~TS along the eastern edge of the third Kalamun ridge, then cuts through a moun­tain pass (3,190 feet elevation) and descends to ~taife (3,000 p~pulation). It then con~inues through a valley between the first and second Kalamun ridge to Nebek (5,000 po~ulation) at mile 116, then descends to Deir Atiyeh (6,000 poP¥latton). The next 45 miles are through undulating steppes, climbing to Jebel Sa~~ pass (elevation 4,458 feet) at mile 128, thence to Horns at mile 166. Roms,. a city \on. th a 1942 population of 94,600, is an important trans­portation center, with.hight~Ys extending in six directions, railroads in three directions; and the northern pipe line from Iraq to Tripoli is just ttvo miles to the South.

From Roms tO,Sama (66,400 population in 1942) the route passes through level fertile land and crosses the Oroltes River over the masonry bridge described above. Thirteen miles north of Hama the rout~ is over un­dulating ground to Khan esh Sheikhun (3,000 population). It then climbs over arid uplands to Maaret en Numan (5,250 population) at mile 229.

(1) Source: :Bureau of Public Road~, General Services Administration! "Ro'" Highway Development in the Middle East can aid in the permanent Resettle­ment of Arab Refugees" (Washlngton,D.C., August 1949).

..

··1

-2-

There is then a gradual descent to Teftenaz (mile 25;'), ,,,here it is joined by the Latakia road. The road then crosses a level plateau to Aleppo (299.200 population), at mile 262, elevation 1,220 feet •

Route 3 - Aleppo to Abou Kemal:

This route is 292 miles in length. From Alem,o to jvTeskeneh (mife 56) on the EUphrates the road has a 15-foot gravel surface. The first five miles of this section,pass through gardens; the remainder over rolling steppes. From ~eskeneh to Raqqa (mile 121) the route is partly on the mesas and partly along the river. The Aleppo-Raqqa route has recently been surfaced with as­phalt.

From Raqqa to Sabkha (mile 138) the road is along the south side of the river in the valley. then cuts across the plains to Tibni (mile 179), th~n across broken terrain to Deir Ez Zor (58,900 population ~n 1942) at mile 208, where a modern suspension bridge crosses the Xuphrates on ~he Rassetche road. Three miles below~eir Ez Zor the Wadi Mellah is crossed. The route then crosses a plain to Meyadin (2.300 population), at mile 238. From there t9 mile 256 a flat river plain is crossed, then the road climbs to a plateau 12 ml1e~ across and then returns to cross over a river plain for 10 miles. The last 14 miles to Abou Kemal (1,000 population) at mile 292 is over open ctluntry.

Route 4 - qtaife - Palmyra • Deir Ez Zor:

The route 255 miles in length begins 24 miles north of Damascus and crosses a barren plain to Kariateine (2.500 popu1atio~) between the second and third Kalamun ridges, then continues along a depression bet,,,,een the third Kalamun ridge and the falmyra to Horns highlands •. The road to Kariatelne is graveled. thence is a graded road of 10\" tyPe, ,,,hich is avoided in wet weather in places in order to keep on ~igh firm ground. At Ain el ~eida the Homs-palmyra road is joined at mile 97. It then follows along the pipe line to Palmyra through the Valley of Tombs.

The road to Sukneh (1,500 population) at mile 165, is aeros~ tL~~ dulating desert. The topography ~s the same to Bir Gabajib, where the road crQsses the ~~i Mell~ which becomes wet and mires traffic in winter~ thence to Deir Ez Zor across more desert. There are apparently no bridges of im­portance on the route.

Route 5 - Homs-Pa»%y!a-Abou Kemal:

The first nine miles is over clay soil which i~ difficult to traverse in wet weather. The remainder of the route is a motor track over broken barren country to mile 81 where route 4 is joined. Route 4 is follO'Vled 21 miles to Palmyra. ,From Palmyra to Abou Kemal""the route is a trfck fol­lowing along near the pipe line and ~raverses barren undulating desert a distance of 144 miles. The total length of the route is 225 miles exClusive of that part coinCiding with route 4.

, There are apparentlY no bridges of importance along the route, al­

though many wadis are crossed,

Route 6 - De1r Ez Zor - Qam1chliye via Hassetche:

This route is a primitive dry-weather road. 139 miles in length. The Euphrates at Deir Ez Zor ,has t1,ro channels. the first is crossed by a 250-foot masonry bridge,of nine spans and the second is crossed by a sus­pension bridge 720 feet long. consisting of a 36o-foot main span and tyro l80-foot approach spans. There iS,a girder bridge over the Khabur at Ras­setche and a small bridge over a wadi at m1~e 87. The road follows across the plains to the Khabur (mile 64). It then f~lloNs the Khabur over fertile valley~ and steppes to Hassetche at mile 92. The route ~hen crosses the Xhabur and follows the Jagj Jagh River to Qamieh11ye along the cultivated valley. This is a town of 8,000 population, at mile ~39.

Route 7,- Syrian section of Dilarbekir-TurkeY-Mo~lt trag, ~oad;

. This route runs east from Qamichliye along the :Baghdad railroao to the Iraq border through plains and steppes, and across some fertile vf'l­leys. The entire length of 55 miles is ~rimitive and cannot be traversed in wet weather.

Route 8 - Hassetche to Demtr r~pou station: , .

The route 1s a primitive motor trail crossing over plowed stenpes and valleys. It is a poor rQad although some of the wadis are bridged. There are concrete structures at mile 22 and mile 48, and some '-looden bridges. The total length is 68 miles.

Route 9 - Chaddadi to Iraq:

This is a graveled two-lane road going to Moaul, Iraq. It through rather rough terrain and is approaximately 35 miles long~ are no bridge data.

Route 10 - Ragga-Tell Abiad!

'.lsses .. 'l'hBre

This rout~t fI7 miles in length, has an earth surface and is irrrnas-e­able after a rain. It deviates to the westward from Raqq~ to avoid marshes for 23 miles: thence,to mile 37 it follows the river valley and then deviates to avoid marshes and passes over hills to 13eu.z at mile 49, and follo'lrls high ground to Tell Ab1ad.

Route 11 - Aleppo Aazaz en route to Gaz1antep, ,Turkey.,;.

The,first 12 miles are across a level plain, then the road climbs over undulating hills to Aaz~z; thence across a ferti+e plain to theTur­kish border. The total length is 34 miles. Aazaz is the largest to,m along the route (4,800 population). The surface is graveled.

Route 12 - Aazaz Junction to Turkish border en route to Iskenderun:

This route is approximately 35 miles in length. The first 13 miles follow along the Aleppo-Meidan Ekbes railway to A:frin (800 population), along the Siman Riyer. It then crosses to the north side of the A:frin River and follows a wid~ valley between KUrd Dagh and Jebel Siman to the Turkish border at El Hamman. There is some improvement on this route, but no bridge data are available.

R~ute,13 - Homs • Aleppo Road to Turkish border en rQute to Ant~ocht

bridges. border.

The road has a Z9-foot ~ll-weather surface. There are no important It climbs up to a low pass,thence over a broad plateau to the Turkish

Total length is 17 miles.

Route 14 - Latakia to Homs - Aleppo Road: , "i I

This road,.91 miles in length, is an all-weather road wide enough f~r two lanes of traffic. The route is coincidental with route 1 for three miles 9ut of Latakia. It then follows the Nahr el Kebir along its west bank for 12 miles, then cnts out over the hills for seven miles, then back into the valley. At mil~ 24 the valley narrows to a gorge and the road crosses from bank to bank in climbing to the top of the divide between the Nahr el Kebir and the Orontes. It then descends through a defile to the valley of Nahr e1 Abyad at mile 39. thenge south across the hills and descends by a series of switchbacks to the Orontes Valley and the to'~ of Jisr esh Shoghur (6,000 population) at mile 50.· It crosse~ the Orontes by a 100-foot bridge, consis­ting of 10 stone arches. The road then turns sou~h to Jebel el Ala and then northeast across Er Ruj depression. It then climbs over some low hills and drops down to Eriha (6,000 populati9n) at mile 71. The route then gradually descends to Idllb (12,000 POlUlation); thence across the plains to the Alep­po-Horns road at Teftenaz at mile 91.

There are three major bridges on the route, one at mile 12. over the Nahr e1 Kebir consisting of two concret~ spans each 132 feet long and another crosses a tributary at mile 32 which consists of three 60-foot spans. The Qrontes bridge has been described above.

Rou.te 15 - Slrian section or Roms to Tripoli pigh'11'ay;

This route, 12 miles in length, is graveled, two lane, and passes through gardens for four m~les to the Orontes which is crossed a~ that ~oint. It then gradually rises for five miles to a plateau and then slo\vly descends to Khirbet et Tin; thence along the plain to the Lebanon border.

Route 16 ..... SYrian sect10n of" Homs-l3ekaa ValIer high\va;v! ,

The,route is about 12 miles long and has a two-lane bituminous sur­face~ It traverses an open plain from Shunshar \~ere it leaves the Horns to Damasetls road ..

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Route 17 - Syrian section of Damas~s-Beirut highwaz:

This route is a good hro-lane bituminou~ rrurfaced roads. From Damas­~s it proceeds westward a fe't1T miles to th~ foothills. It then proceeds trr)

through mountainous country to the Lebanon border. The steepe~t grades (10 percent) and high~st passes are in Lebanon. The high points are sometimes blocked wit~ snow. but are generally cleared with~n a few days. The length is about ,5 miles. There are no major structures but all stream crossings are bridged ..

Route 18 - Salkhad to Lebanon border en route to Sidon:

From Salkhad to route 2 the road.has a two-lane gravel surface. It descends gradually to mile 28 at the.Junction ,,!ith Route 2. Beyond Route 2 the road has a tt'lo-lane bituminous surface. It traverses an undulating rocky plateau to Xuneitra at mile 60. The plateau continues for a fe,,, miles further, then the road descends thrpugh the gorge of the Wadi Saareh to BaniaS t

then "lorks around the southern end of Mount Hermon and drops to the Jordan Valley. The route ends at mile 85.

. There are no major bridges but there aTe many stone and masonry

bridges and ~lveTts along the route.

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I,'

.APPENDIX :S.

Road Devel

I. (1) ,Completion of the road :Banyass, V~syaf, Hama, This is an ;mportant secondary road which is to link,Harna with the coast. The total length '''ould be 90 kIn., of which half is already completed with macadam pavement. Work is underway on the remaining 45 km.

(2) New roads to be constructed on the 52 km. Homs-Talkalakh section ~d. the 28 kIn. Xalakh-Tartouss section of the Homs-Talakh-Tartouss route. This is an important secondary road connecting Horns with the so~thern coastal road. The importance of this road. has increased in the postwar period. since it is a national Syrian road,avoiding ~ebanese customs delays. The construction of the I.P.C. pipeline to Tartouss, roughly parallel po this road, also enhances the value of this road. With the repair of the above-mentioned stretches, the road will be suitable through eat for heavy trafftc.

(3) To provide a.sphalt surface on the 200km. road from Ihan Abou Cha.mat to the ~raq frontier.

(4) To mac~damize the 65 kIn.road between salamiye -Soun Bilass. present­ly.only a track.

II. The program drawn up by the :Bureau. of Public Roads appears from the following Table. (Confer route numbers "Ii th Appendix A):

Estimated Cost of Imgroving Routes OUtllne~ +n a Tentativ~Prlmarl Slstem

Syria

Route Lengt1;l Grading Surfacing :Bituminous Star Drainage Total Cost KM. Dgllars Dollars bilization (~) Dollars Dollars

1 188.2 510.000 267,500 209,000 10'7,000 1,093,500 2 453;7 1,098.000 573,000 567.500 386,500 2,625,000 3 469~8 1,680.000 1,168,000 1,460,000 438,000 4,746,000 4 410.3 1,497,500 1,260,000 1,575,000 315,000 4,647,500 5 3621 0 1,471,500 900,000 7~,OOO 26!'5,t')oo 3,393,000 6 223,7 787,000 5~,000 417,000 185,000 1,94:'5,000 7 B8 t 5 313.000 220.000 165,000 74,000 772,000 8 109,4 340,000 136,000 102,000 578,000 9 !56!3 175.000 140,000 lOA, 000 35,000 45 F), 000

10 91t 7 285,000 171,000 85,500 h41,500 11 54.7 102,000 102,000 102,000 34,000 )40,COO 12 e6~3 175,000 105,000 70,000 )hO,OOO 13 27.4 51,000 51,000 17,000 119,000 14 146~4 448,000 325,000 390,000 139,600 1,302,500 15 19,3 36,000 24,000 24,000 12,000 96,000 16 19~3 36,000 30,000 24,000 12,000 102,000 17 56~3 170,000 82,500 65,000 47,500 365,000 18 1;6.8 228!000 227 2 000 114,000 I1J.500 752.500 Total 2,970,,2 9,47),000 6.388,000 5;973,500 '2,438,300 24,223,000

Other improvements in ludin rna or brid es and minor 10 000 000 GRAND TOTAL: 2 34,223.000 (1) U.N.Report op.cit.Part II, p,73 (Distances also from Gibb's Report

op.cit. pages 103-106 ~d from map). (2) Does not inClude routine maintenance and minor betterment estimated -

at $2,000,QOO per annum.

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III. The road 90nstruction and improvement program as recommended by the Gibb Report calls for 1,142 ~. of roaa to be developed over a ten-year period. Total cost of construetieu is estimated at,about L.S.40-million (or $18.3 million). This includes L.S.34.3 million for construction of the 1,142 ~. of secondary roads, L.S. 1.25 million for construction of dry-weather roads, and L.S.4 million for improve­ment on eXisting arterial roads.

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SYRIA: TRANSPORTATION AND LOtATION OF PROJECTS

TURKEY

HOMS

~FJiiiiitII"'7J'" \ _ .. ._.L ' ........ -.... -...........

.",-,.". .............. , ------------- ", ,..--' ' .... -... ~ ... DOUMA

DAMASCUS OJEBEL TENFO-7.~~:~;.,;- ...

\

\

DEIR El lOR

, ... -,.",. .... .-..-.

, .... -I t I

... '

,"'"

~.:::t!ff}F§;J/:~:::::::::: .t.I:.:~::::::::::::::.; ....

A;(§d'{!Jl%l%4%F~::

To Baghdad

KILOMETRES , I I

o 50 100

JORDAN '--- ...... , ................. March 1951, I.B.R.D.- Economic Dept.

IRAQ

KEY

ROADS

ARTERIAL ROADS

SECONDARY ROADS

----- ALL WEATHER, EXISTING

............... ALL WEATHER, PROPOSED

-------- DRY WEATHER

------:- ROADS PROPOSED FOR

RAILWAYS

EXISTING

If 11111111111

I.B.R.D. FINANCING

STANDARD GAUGE

1.05 METRE GAUGE