Business booming in Rojava after outlet opened with Kurdistan Region

A new border crossing recently opened between the Kurdistan Region and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) plays a significant role in the prosperity of the Kurdish region in northern Syria.
kurdistan24.net

QAMISHLO, Kurdistan24 (Kurdistan24) – A new border crossing recently opened between the Kurdistan Region and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) plays a significant role in the prosperity of the Kurdish region in northern Syria, a field reporter said on Wednesday.

A Kurdistan24 news team in Syria’s Kurdish city of Qamishlo interviewed several contractors and traders in the city.

According to civil engineers and architects, the recent recovery of the economic sector in Rojava is attributed to the availability of construction materials, including cement and iron.

Majid Bave Jiwan, an architect, said the sale and purchase of real estate flourished in the region after opening a new border crossing with Kurdistan, other than the Faysh Khabur border (also known as Semalka).

“The situation is much better, and people here are buying properties,” he said.

According to Bave Jiwan, real estate prices are reasonable nowadays as many construction materials are imported through the Region to Syria.

“There is some stability and security here, and this encourages people to run their businesses,” he said.

“People are optimistic, active, and energetic,” he added.

Bave Jiwan also pointed out the conditions in Rojava were much better than before compared to other warring areas in Syria.

Additionally, the booming of the construction business creates more job opportunities in the region and tackles unemployment.

A map shows the border crossing between the Kurdistan Region and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava). (Photo: Google maps/edited at Kurdistan24 on April 22, 2017)
A map shows the border crossing between the Kurdistan Region and Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava). (Photo: Google maps/edited at Kurdistan24 on April 22, 2017)

After the break-out of the Syrian civil war in 2011, unemployment increased in Rojava, and the financial situation deteriorated drastically.

The war resulted in the mass migration of locals as most jobs were related to construction.

Abas Nuri is a Syrian Kurdish contractor who migrated to the Kurdistan Region a few years ago and returned to Rojava about six months ago.

Nuri spoke to Kurdistan24 about the improving financial situation in northern Syria.

“Business here is improving, and the situation is much better than before, but the high price of materials remains a problem,” he said.

“Construction tools and materials are expensive, but the situation, in general, has improved,” he explained.  

In the past few years, construction in Rojava stopped due to the deterioration of security and the invasion of the Islamic State (IS) resulting in the blocking of key trade routes.

Several trade agreements between the two Kurdish regions in Iraq and Syria is another reason for the improved financial situation in Rojava.

The new border crossing was opened last month on the border between Iraq and Syria in the northeast of the country.

On Jan. 16, 2013, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) inaugurated the Kurdistan Region-Rojava border crossing (Faysh Khabur).

The KRG established a pontoon bridge across the Tigris about one kilometer downstream of the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish trip point.

After the breakout of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, the Syrian-Turkish border remained closed.

As a result, the crossing to Kurdistan from northeastern Syria has been used to bring in produce and building materials.

 

 

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany

(Additional reporting by Kurdistan24 correspondent in Qamishlo Lava Asaad)