Project record

Port of Tartous modernisation and marine access works

DP World Tartous team assembled in front of the new Al Fath harbour tug at the Port of Tartous

DP World

Tartous has progressed from a May 2025 memorandum to a signed 30-year BOT concession, formal operator handover, harbour-tug service, and the first of three mobile harbour cranes. Channel, basin, and berth dredging, achieved depths, quay acceptance, and the wider terminal upgrade remain open delivery gates.

Project signal

Early Works in Syria

Current status Operations active; modernisation equipment mobilising Source confidence Confirmed

Location

Syria / Middle East

Segment

Port infrastructure

Status

Operations active; modernisation equipment mobilising / Confirmed

Last checked

16 July 2026

Coverage

Related sectors

Port infrastructure is the primary work classification. Related sectors connect this record to adjacent marine delivery and market coverage.

Subject index

Related subjects

These subject pages bring together related projects, technical articles, reports, and evidence methods.

Project anatomy

Contract scope and delivery roles

Client / authority
General Authority for Land and Sea Ports / DP World Tartous
Delivery parties
DP World (concessionaire and port operator), Marine works package contractors are not disclosed
Contract route
Thirty-year Build-Operate-Transfer concession signed between DP World and Syria's General Authority for Land and Sea Ports, with DP World identifying an USD 800 million investment programme
Execution window
The parties signed an USD 800 million memorandum on 16 May 2025 and the 30-year BOT concession on 13 July. Operations transferred to DP World on 12 November 2025. The first mobile harbour crane arrived on 29 June 2026 and two additional cranes were scheduled by August; dredging, quay, and wider infrastructure completion dates remain unconfirmed in the cited public source set.
Works package
A 30-year port modernisation and operating programme covering access-channel, basin, and berth dredging; infrastructure and quay-readiness surveys; quay, yard, warehouse, superstructure, and terminal upgrades; harbour craft; mobile harbour cranes; cargo-handling systems; digital platforms; and later capacity expansion for container, general cargo, bulk, breakbulk, and roll-on/roll-off traffic.
Marine interfaces
Access-channel, basin, and berth dredging; target-depth verification; quay-readiness surveys; harbour tug and pilotage support; berth rehabilitation; crane interfaces; and future terminal-capacity works
Commercial evidence boundary
The operator concession and initial equipment orders are committed. The open marine works picture concerns how access-channel, basin, berth, quay, survey, rehabilitation, disposal, and specialist marine-service scopes are packaged and evidenced; the USD 800 million programme value is not a marine contract value.

Project timeline

Material developments

Dated events that changed scope, counterparties, delivery, commissioning or operating status.

Open this project in the Change Log

First of three mobile harbour cranes arrived

The first crane reached Tartous and two more were scheduled by August. Arrival proves equipment mobilisation, not commissioning of all three cranes or the expected 40% cargo-capacity increase.

Source

DP World took over operations and placed Al Fath in service

Formal handover moved the concession into operation and added a 50-tonne-bollard-pull harbour tug. DP World was still surveying infrastructure and quay readiness and described channel, basin, and berth dredging as an immediate focus, not completed work.

Source

Thirty-year BOT concession was signed

The signed concession replaced the preliminary memorandum with a 30-year development-and-operation structure and an USD 800 million programme. It did not identify marine package awards, contractors, quantities, target depths, or completion dates.

Source

Authority and DP World signed the initial memorandum

The memorandum established an USD 800 million investment intent for development, management, and operation of a multi-purpose terminal. It was an early commercial milestone rather than proof of concession execution, operator handover, or physical works.

Source

Evidence gap

What remains unverified

Outstanding evidence

  • Arrival and commissioning of all three mobile harbour cranes
  • Infrastructure, quay, and baseline hydrographic survey results
  • Dredging package, contractor, plant, quantities, and material route
  • Accepted channel, basin, and berth depths
  • Quay, yard, warehouse, digital, and cargo-system handover
  • Vessel calls, berth productivity, cargo growth, and sustained concession performance

Related records 2

Reporting status

Early Works, confirmed confidence

Last checked 16 July 2026 across 5 cited sources. The dated timeline above carries the project events.

Last checked 16 July 2026 Cited sources 5

Sources and related records

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Source collections

Project sources 5