In north Syria, business hub hopes to drive recovery from war

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Khalil Ashawip

pALBAB, Syria Reuters – In an industrial zone in northern Syria‘s rebelheld city of AlBab, Abu Omar alShihabi’s smelter churns out iron bars he says can compete with any produced in Syria and beyond.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pThe industrial zone is an unlikely business hub. It is located on the edge of a city which was once occupied by Islamic State and now sits between a Turkish border wall to the north and a frontline with Syrian government forces to the south.p

pBut the zone, one of five in the region which is controlled by Turkeybacked rebels, is key to efforts to develop an economy hit by hardship and destruction during Syrias 11year conflict.p

pSuccess could bring sorely needed jobs and opportunities, six years after Turkish troops and Syrian fighters drove Islamic State from the region and prevented a Kurdish force from filling the void. p

pTurkey hopes that stability can encourage some of the 3.6 million Syrian refugees it currently hosts to head back across the border into Syria. p

pShihabi said the low wages in northern Syria and abundance of scrap metal after years of war offer big advantages to his iron smelter.p

p“In Syria, I can compete with the Turks with my own products,” said Shihabi, who mainly sells into rebelheld territories and also into Turkey.p

pThe industrial zone, home to about 30 factories and workshops, was established four years ago on the road north from AlBab, with support from Turkey.p

pA sign across the road which bisects the zone is written in both Arabic and Turkish, highlighting Ankaras lasting influence since its 2016 military incursion. The Turkish lira is widely used in the region and Turkish administrators help run schools and hospitals. p

pBUILDING SELFRELIANCEp

pAt the industrial zone, factories produce a range of goods including iron bars used in construction, shoes, clothes, mats, mineral water, and tehina, said businessman Omar Waki who set up the project.p

p“The biggest inducement to set up operations… is the low cost. Labour for us is cheap compared to other areas,” he said.p

p“The average worker‘s wage in Turkey is 400 a month. Here it’s a quarter of that.”p

pNorthern Syria, particularly the city of Aleppo just 30 km 18 miles to the southwest of AlBab, was Syrias commercial hub before 2011, when protests against President Bashar alAssad spiralled into a civil war, driving many businesses across into Turkey.p

pMost products in the AlBab zone are sold within the northern rebelheld territories, although some do reach more distant markets across frontlines or borders.p

pDespite cheap labour costs, businesses in the industrial zone face steep challenges. The region is still vulnerable to a possible offensive by Syrian government forces, while poor transport links and rising electricity costs hamper expansion.p

pShihabis smelter is just a fraction of the size of his prewar operation, which employed 150 people before it was hit in a 2012 air raid. Now it has just 25 workers, and production is down nearly 90, producing just .p

pAbdel Khaleq Tahbash set up a factory producing floormats after fleeing bombardment in Idlib. Despite complaints about electricity costs and obstacles to selling abroad, he said he was happy to be in AlBab. p

p“I prefer to work in Syria,” he said. “Without capital you cant work in Turkey, and this is my country.”p

pWaki said security in the northwest was improving, drawing more people to invest including three Turkish companies. While the AlBab zone remains modest, it shows Syrian businesses are resilient, he said.p

p“Instead of importing from China or Turkey, we can make it ourselves. We are selfreliant.” p

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pp Reporting by Dominic Evans Editing by Gareth Jonesp

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