Türkiye to Expand Electricity Exports to Syria to 500 MW by Mid-2024: Energy Minister

Türkiye aims to increase its electricity export capacity to Syria to 500 megawatts within the next six months, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar announced Thursday on CNN Turk. The country currently supplies 210 megawatts through seven locations and plans to boost this to 300 megawatts in February, targeting support for Idlib and Afrin.

Since 2017, Türkiye has provided electricity and fuel to Syria, Bayraktar stated, emphasizing plans to expand capacity to Aleppo. He noted that natural gas required for Aleppo’s power plants could be transported from Türkiye’s southern Kilis province within a year via existing gas lines.

Bayraktar urged Turkish and international investors to back these initiatives, highlighting Syria’s significant untapped energy potential. While the country produced 630,000 barrels of oil daily in the early 2000s, he stressed that seismic studies and field surveys could revitalize production.

Two Turkish delegations recently assessed Syria’s energy infrastructure, Bayraktar said, signaling deeper collaboration despite ongoing challenges.

Meanwhile, the Baath Party’s decades-long rule in Syria ended on December 8, as anti-regime forces led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham seized Damascus. Syrian President Bashar al-Assad fled to Russia following the swift takeover.

Source: Anadolu Agency