First Homs Forum
The first business forum in Homs province opened on 13 August 2026, drawing about 700 entrepreneurs and investors to discuss the private sector's role in economic recovery. Organizers framed the gathering around turning the governorate's location and industrial base into concrete investment.
The event centered on a catalogue of ready projects and a new digital platform meant to standardize how investors reach opportunities across the province.
135 Projects Mapped
The forum presented 135 projects and investment opportunities spread across four sectors: 10 in agriculture, 13 in general services, 31 in industry and energy, and 81 in real estate and urban development. More than 120 of the projects came with completed feasibility studies.
Among the headline items was a proposed dry port covering 900,000 square meters with an annual capacity of 10 million tons, alongside reconstruction work concentrated in the Al-Waer neighborhood.
First Development License
Officials awarded the province's first formal real estate development license to investor Rifai Hamadi, presenting it as a template for licensing multi-story housing and reconstruction projects. Organizers estimated the projects on offer could benefit more than 500,000 people if realized.
A unified electronic platform was launched to publish project details, feasibility data and procedures, which participants said reduces the time and cost of researching opportunities.
Remaining Obstacles
Business leaders welcomed the platform but pointed to persistent hurdles, citing licensing procedures, cross-border money transfers and limited outreach to international and diaspora investors as the main barriers to committing capital.
Participants called for faster procedures and stronger promotion abroad, particularly to Syrians overseas, to convert the listed opportunities into signed investments.