The Ports and Customs Authority announces the start of the procedures for the establishment  of a new border crossing  with Jordan

The head of the General Authority for Ports and Customs, Qutaiba Ahmed Badawi, revealed that the authority is currently working on establishing a new land border crossing in Daraa province, which mainly aims to facilitate the movement of passengers between Syria and Jordan, raise the efficiency of logistics services, and keep pace with the expected growth in transit traffic between the two brotherly countries. Badawi explained in a post on the "X" platform that Daraa governorate enjoys top priorities within the government's plans to develop the infrastructure of the ports, pointing to the details of a field tour he conducted with his assistants The Authority officials inspected the land allocated for the project in the Daraa Al-Balad area and finalized the start of implementation, which would contribute to the construction of new connection roads, reduce congestion and reduce waiting hours.

Technical Alternative

In the technical context of the project, the Director of Relations at the General Authority for Ports and Customs, Mazen Alloush, explained that the new port will serve as an official replacement for the "Old Daraa Customs" center (Daraa-Ramtha crossing), which has been completely out of service for about 11 years as a result of the comprehensive destruction of its infrastructure as a result of military operations.

Alloush added that the old crossing is no longer eligible for engineering operation, due to the existence of geographical obstacles represented in its current location from the common border line at a distance of more than 7 kilometers, which prompted the Authority to adopt the option of establishing a direct connection line opposite the Jordanian city of Ramtha to comply with the latest security and technical standards for the border.

Real estate settlement

Regarding the current legal and field procedures, Alloush confirmed the completion of the stage of limiting the ownership of lands within the geographical scope of the project in coordination with the Daraa Provincial Council, after it was found that these properties belong to private ownership.

Accordingly, coordination was made to form a specialized committee that includes real estate experts, members of the Executive Office, landowners, and a representative of the Ports Authority, to officially undertake the tasks of purchasing real estate and estimating its financial value for the transfer of ownership to the State, in preparation for the launch of topographic survey work and the preparation of engineering plans.

He pointed out that there is currently no specific timetable for the actual opening due to the fact that the start of construction is linked to the completion of the acquisition transactions.

Outlet Strategy

The Directorate of Facilities and Maintenance at the Authority announced that this vital project falls within a comprehensive vision led by the General Authority for Ports and Customs to activate and modernize all Syrian border crossings , especially with Iraq and Jordan.

In a statement, the Directorate pointed out that  the implementation of permanent infrastructure works at the Al-Tanf border crossing with Iraq has begun in accordance with the highest engineering specifications, a few weeks after the announcement of the official resumption of the transit of passengers through the Al-Yarubiya port in Al-Hasakah governorate, which reflects a desire to integrate the Syrian ports into the regional trade depth and meet the demands of local economic actors looking forward to reopening the historic Ramtha crossing to relieve the continuous pressure on the Nasib-Jaber crossing.