Syria's General Authority for Borders and Customs has formalized a contract with the French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM to operate two dry ports located in the free zones of Adra and Aleppo, the Syrian state news agency SANA reported on Tuesday.
The agreement assigns CMA CGM responsibility for the management and operation of those inland facilities, with the stated aim of supporting logistics and trade activity tied to the free zones. The announcement came at the same time as the launch of a trial freight train service linking Latakia port - Syria's primary maritime gateway - with the Adra dry port. That rail connection resumed after a 14-year interruption caused by the Syrian civil war.
This new arrangement builds on a separate deal signed in May 2025, under which CMA CGM secured a 30-year contract to modernize and operate Latakia port. The company is led by Chief Executive Rodolphe Saadé, described in reports as a Franco-Lebanese executive with family roots in Syria.
Observers noted the broader diplomatic context in which the port and dry port agreements were announced. On May 11, the European Union restored the full application of its 1977 cooperation agreement with Syria, ending a partial suspension that had been in place since 2011 due to human rights concerns linked to the government of Bashar al-Assad. That development followed Assad's fall in December 2024 and the lifting of most EU economic sanctions in 2025.
Taken together, the dry port contract, the Latakia modernization deal, and the trial rail linkage signal coordinated steps to reintegrate maritime and inland logistics services in Syria's trade network. The dry ports in Adra and Aleppo are framed in the agreement as operational nodes intended to facilitate trade flows through the free zones and to connect maritime traffic at Latakia with inland distribution points.
Details on the operational timeline and specific performance obligations under the dry port contract were not provided in the announcement reported by SANA. The statement likewise did not include further technical or financial specifics about the trial freight service beyond noting that it resumed after a long suspension tied to the conflict.
Summary
Syria's borders and customs authority has signed a contract with CMA CGM to run two dry ports in Adra and Aleppo. The move coincides with a trial rail service reconnecting Latakia port and Adra after 14 years, and follows a 30-year Latakia port agreement awarded to CMA CGM in May 2025. Recent diplomatic shifts include the EU restoring its 1977 cooperation accord and the lifting of most sanctions in 2025 after political change in December 2024.