ISTANBUL

Syrian Transport Minister Yarub Badr and Damascus Governor Maher Marwan held talks Monday with a delegation from a United Arab Emirates-based investment company on the long-awaited Damascus Metro project, Syria’s state-run news agency SANA reported.

The meeting, held in Damascus, focused on the technical, financial and executive aspects of the project and brought together Syrian officials and representatives of the UAE National Company for Investment in Projects led by chairman Hamad Hassan Al-Hamadi.

The two sides reviewed plans for preparing a draft memorandum of understanding (MoU) laying the groundwork for construction and investment in the capital’s metro system.

Badr emphasized that the Damascus Metro is a “strategic step toward upgrading the capital’s transport infrastructure,” SANA reported.

The metro’s significance lies in reducing traffic congestion, cutting environmental pollution and serving large segments of the population in the overcrowded capital, which has long struggled with limited public transportation options.

The two sides also reviewed the proposed green line of the Damascus Metro, which would span 16.5 kilometers (10.2 miles) and connect the city of Al-Maadamiya to Al-Qaboun.

The initiative is part of broader post-Assad infrastructure ambitions by Damascus to attract foreign investment, especially from Gulf countries.

Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia in December, ending the Baath Party regime, which had been in power since 1963. A new transitional administration led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa was formed in January.