CMA CGM Commits to Modernize Syria’s Latakia Port with New 30-Year Deal

Latakia, Syria — CMA CGM has run the port for nearly a decade and now has a 30-year concession (Public domain)

The new government of Syria and CMA CGM made official today their new agreement to operate the Latakia port, the country’s main seaport which is located on the northern Mediterranean coast. CMA CGM has operated the port for more than a decade under the regime of Bashar al-Assad.

The new government announced in February that it had reached terms with the French group for a new, much longer, management agreement, but under revised terms. During the signing ceremony today, May 1, officials emphasized that the operations would be under state supervision and that the new contract was provided without “granting any exceptional operational privileges.”

CMA CGM received a new 30-year agreement for port operations. The Syrian port authority said the new agreement “addressed a settlement of all outstanding obligation,” and provides for new terms. News reports said the Syrian state will receive 60 percent of the port’s revenues and CMA CGM will retain 40 percent. The percentage will be adjusted as the number of containers entering the country grows.

It said the company has agreed to new long-term investments in the port and its operations, Mazen Alloush, Director of Public relations for Syria’s General Authority for Land and Sea ports, told the SANA news agency that CMA CGM during the first year would invest approximately $32 million to maintain and modernize the port’s equipment. Over the next four years, CMA CGM will invest a further $230 million as part of the expansion of the port.

Among the steps planned is a new pier able to handle larger vessels. The basin will also be deepened CMA CGM’s regional director told the press.

Reports said the new deal was in recognition that CMA CGM had stood with Syria despite international sanctions in recent years. It was also pointed out that the Saadé family which owns CMA CGM has historical ties to Syria although it is now identified as being French-Lebanese.

The port has a bit of a notorious reputation under the prior regime while there are reports of sectarian violence continuing in the region. The Port of Latakia has been cited as a hotspot for the smuggling and the regional trade in illegal drugs. The port has also allegedly received shipments of Ukrainian grain stolen from Russian-occupied Crimea.