Two New Loans Approved
The World Bank has approved $150 million for a water sector project and $75 million for a primary health care project in Syria, Finance Minister Mohammad Yisr Barniya announced on 25 April 2026. The two operations together total $225 million in new commitments to the country.
The water project aims to improve household access to clean water and rehabilitate sewage networks, while the health package targets primary care services.
Phases Three and Four
The new approvals are the third and fourth tranches in a portfolio of 11 World Bank projects under preparation or implementation. They follow a $146 million electricity transmission rehabilitation project and a $20 million public financial management project that anchored the earlier phases.
According to the minister, the active commitments to date span power, fiscal management, water and health.
Pipeline of $1.4 Billion
Barniya disclosed a further pipeline of new projects worth roughly $1.4 billion in total, indicating a sharp scaling up of multilateral engagement compared with prior years. He said the package supports the government's Syria Without Camps initiative, which seeks to create conditions for refugee return.
He added that the International Finance Corporation, the World Bank Group's private-sector arm, is expected to resume operations in Syria.
Currency Backdrop
The announcements landed against a relatively quiet day for the Syrian pound (SYP), which traded at about 13,200 to the US dollar (USD), little changed on the day but down roughly 7.9% over the past month. Multilateral inflows in dollars are watched closely by traders for any sign of pressure relief on the foreign exchange market.
What Comes Next
Disbursement schedules and procurement timelines for the water and health projects were not detailed in the announcement. The minister linked the new approvals to the broader 11-project portfolio, suggesting further tranches will be sequenced as preparation work concludes.