Lebanon is working to restore a rail connection with Syria as part of a wider transport network reaching Türkiye, Iraq and the Gulf, Public Works and Transport Minister Fayez Rasamny said on Sept. 4.
Rasamny told Anadolu Agency that the project would link the ports of Beirut and Tripoli with regional markets, expanding Lebanon’s role as a transit hub.
“Our aim in bringing the railway lines back into service is not only to connect Lebanon and Syria, but also to link Lebanese ports to markets in the Gulf, Iraq and Türkiye through regional networks,” he said.
Lebanon launched a tender in May to rehabilitate the railway between the northern city of Tripoli and Abboudiyeh on the Syrian border. Rasamny said connecting the route to Syria’s rail network would ease freight movement and provide traders with an alternative to Lebanon’s roads, which he said could not accommodate a sustained increase in cargo traffic.
“Türkiye has a major role because of its proximity to Europe, the Gulf and Syria and its developed rail network,” Rasamny said, describing Ankara as central to any future regional transport network.
He said Lebanon was counting on Türkiye’s support for the project and had received an invitation to visit Ankara soon for talks.
Rasamny argued that linking Lebanon and Syria alone would not deliver the project’s full economic benefits.
Those gains would emerge when Lebanese and Syrian ports were connected to Türkiye, Iraq and the Gulf, encouraging investment in the railway, he said.
He also pointed to tensions affecting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb, saying they had increased the importance of Lebanon’s Mediterranean ports and their potential to attract investment.
Lebanon aims to raise Beirut Port’s annual capacity from about 1.2 million containers to around 3 million. The government also plans to expand Tripoli Port’s capacity from roughly 300,000 containers to more than 1 million, according to Rasamny.
