Syria signed $403m Saudi loan deals, fund says

The Saudi Fund for Development said it signed six concessional loan agreements worth more than $403 million with Syria to finance power, water, civil defence, housing, health and finance-ministry projects.

The fund said the signing was witnessed by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa. It said SFD chief executive Sultan bin Abdulrahman Al-Marshad and Syrian Finance Minister Mohammed Yusr Barniyeh signed the agreements for their institutions.

The announced projects include $90 million to rehabilitate generating units at the Aleppo Thermal Power Plant, $30 million for 300,000 smart water meters, $105 million for 25 civil defence centres, $60 million to rehabilitate up to 10,000 damaged homes, $100 million for hospitals and health centres and $18 million for digital transformation at Syria's Ministry of Finance.

The fund said the power project would help about 5 million people, the water project about 1.5 million people and the civil defence project more than 7 million people.

It said the loans build on two grants supplied through the fund in September 2025 to provide crude oil and cover part of public employees' salaries over three months.