Chinese company establishes "passenger bus" factory in Syria
The Syrian Automotive Manufacturing Company (SCAI), a subsidiary of the Syrian Sovereign Fund, has signed an agreement with the Chinese company "Yutong", which specializes in manufacturing buses, to establish a modern vehicle factory in Syria.
The Executive Director of the Syrian Automobile Manufacturing Company, Walid Sahari, considered this partnership "an important foundational step to build a modern automotive industry in Syria, and to move from importing and limited assembly to localizing the industry and transferring technology, which contributes to creating sustainable national added value.
Sahari explained that the agreement aims to build national capacities capable of managing and developing this industry , and that the project will expand from local manufacturing to the development of suppliers and feeder industries, in addition to supporting research and development and engineering services, allowing the entry of new industrial sectors and enhancing the ability to grow and compete.
Sahari pointed out that the Syrian Sovereign Fund supported the agreement as a long-term strategic investment, which is not limited to the establishment of a factory, but goes beyond that to the establishment of a new industrial sector, the provision of job opportunities, and the construction of sustainable national assets.
The CEO of the company confirmed that the timetable for the implementation of the agreement is protected by strict clauses that ensure the commitment of both parties to speed and accuracy, given the urgent need to modernize the country's land transport fleet.
Manufacturing 10,000 buses annually
The agreement included the establishment of a car factory in the industrial city of Adra in Damascus countryside, with a production capacity of up to 10,000 buses and transport vehicles annually to cover the needs of the local market and open the door for export to neighboring countries, provided that the production varies between environmentally friendly electric buses, internal transport buses and microbuses, to modernize the public transport fleet.
The project is expected to create more than 2,500 direct jobs for engineers, technicians and workers, as well as revitalize small and medium-sized feeder industries such as glass, benches and electrical cables.
The executive schedule for the establishment and operation of the factory extends over a period of two full years, with a maximum of 24 months to reach the stage of mass commercial production, where the joint committee between the two companies has developed a gradual time plan starting from construction and engineering works that take between 6 to 8 months, and includes the construction of structures and warehouses, the extension of power lines, and the connection of the site to the logistics network of the smart industrial city.
The work plan included the start of the installation and supply phase of production lines and modern machines within 4 to 5 months, where the Chinese side will ship equipment and robots for assembly, coating, and digital inspection systems. In parallel with this phase, Syrian cadres are being trained and qualified by sending engineers and technicians to China, and bringing in Chinese experts to supervise the trial operation in Damascus.
Production to start during the first quarter of 2027
The joint committee expected that trial operation and initial production will begin during the first quarter of 2027, through the SKD method of fully assembling imported buses, to meet the urgent requests of the Ministry of Transport and private companies.
The executive program included the completion of the comprehensive localization phase and the increase of production capacity, which will be completed by mid-2028, with the operation of all production lines, reaching the target capacity of 10,000 buses per year, and the start of manufacturing structures and components locally at a rate exceeding 40% of the added value.
The Adra Industrial City Administration, in coordination with the Ministry of Economy, has provided an exceptional package of customs facilities and tax exemptions for the benefit of the Syrian Automotive Manufacturing Company (SCAI) and its Chinese partner "Yutong", with the aim of accelerating the construction and operation schedule and ensuring the start of the project within the specified period.
The project received a full 10-year exemption from profit tax and income tax from the date of commercial production, in addition to comprehensive exemptions during the construction period from licence fees, local taxes and VAT on internal supply contracts.
Manufacture of Passenger Buses Exclusively
Three main categories are leading the first production lines at the Yutong and SCAI plant in the industrial city of Adra, with a particular focus on tackling the inland transport crisis and reducing fuel consumption.
The updated Yutong ZK6128 series of intercity buses come at the forefront, which are large 12-meter diesel buses with a capacity of about 80 to 100 passengers, dedicated to providing transport companies in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Latakia with a modern and air-conditioned fleet that supports electronic payment systems.
The planned production includes Yutong E12 eco-friendly electric buses (E-Bus), equipped with long-range batteries of more than 300 kilometers on a single charge, to be operated in city centers and tourist areas with the aim of reducing pollution while being equipped with batteries designed to withstand the high heat in the region.
The third category is medium buses and microbuses similar to the ZK6720 series, with a capacity of between 24 and 30 seats, powered by economical diesel engines, to modernize the old "service" lines between cities and rural areas within a structured institutional operating system.
All of these models in the first batch rely on genuine parts and components fully imported from Yutong's factories in China to be assembled in Adra, with locally manufactured parts and structures gradually integrated to reduce the final cost for the Syrian consumer.