Türkiye plans to increase its electricity export capacity to Syria to 500 megawatts over the next six months, Alparslan Bayraktar, Türkiye’s Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, announced on Thursday.
The country currently exports 210 megawatts of power via seven locations to Syria and aims to boost this level to 300 megawatts in February ‘to support Idlib, Afrin,’ Bayraktar said during an interview with Turkish news channel CNN Turk.
Since 2017, Ankara has been supplying electricity and fuel to Syria, Bayraktar noted. He said this capacity could rise to 500 megawatts within the next six months, with a particular focus on supplying Aleppo.
‘The natural gas required by the power plants in Aleppo can be piped from Türkiye within a year,’ he said adding there are natural gas lines in Türkiye’s southernmost province of Kilis.
Bayraktar emphasized the importance of attracting both Turkish investors and international companies to support these efforts.
He highlighted that Syria was producing 630,000 barrels of oil daily in the early 2000s, adding that the country’s untapped potential could be raised with thorough field surveys and seismic studies.
Two Turkish delegations have been in Syria to evaluate Syria’s energy infrastructure, he noted.
Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s leader for nearly 25 years, fled to Russia after anti-regime groups seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, marking the end of the Baath Party’s rule, which had been in power since 1963.
The takeover came after Hayat Tahrir al-Sham fighters captured key cities in a lightning offensive that lasted less than two weeks.
