The World Bank approved a $146 million grant to help Syria restore reliable, affordable electricity and support the country’s economic recovery, it said in a statement on Wednesday.
“The Syria Electricity Emergency Project (SEEP) will rehabilitate damaged transmission lines and transformer substations and provide technical assistance to support the development of the electricity sector and build the capacity of its institutions,” it said.
After 14 years of war, Syria’s electricity sector has been suffering from severe damage to its grid and power stations, aging infrastructure, and persistent fuel shortages.
“Among Syria’s urgent reconstruction needs, rehabilitating the electricity sector has emerged as a critical, no-regret investment that can improve the living conditions of the Syrian people, support the return of refugees and the internally displaced, enable resumption of other services such as water services and healthcare for the population and help kickstart economic recovery,” said World Bank Middle East Division Director Jean-Christophe Carret.
“This project represents the first step in a planned increase in World Bank support to Syria on its path to recovery and development,” he added.
According to the World Bank statement, the SEEP will finance the rehabilitation of high voltage transmission lines, including two critical 400 kV high-voltage interconnector transmission lines damaged during the conflict, restoring Syria’s regional connectivity to Jordan and Türkiye.
The project will also repair damaged high-voltage transformer substations near demand centers in the most impacted areas that host the highest number of returnee refugees and internally displaced people and provide necessary spare parts and maintenance equipment.
In addition, the SEEP will provide technical assistance to inform the country’s key electricity sector strategies, policy and regulatory reforms, and investment plans for medium to long term sustainability. It will also provide capacity building support to the electricity sector institutions to implement these strategies and reforms.
