Amid rebels and rubble, Indians putting the steel back in Syria’s reconstruction

Rows of bombed-out buildings, their skeletal remains punctured with large holes by air-strikes and missiles, empty streets lined up with massive debris where once stood residential buildings, buzzing market places, ancient souks, hospitals and schools; the images of the rubble and destruction in Syria are one of the striking aftermaths of the nearly six-year war that is yet far from over. With more than 50 per cent of the major cities destroyed the scale of post-war reconstruction in Syria is colossal.

A tiny speck of this enormous task is being shouldered by a bunch of Indian engineers and Syrian labourers who amid the ongoing conflict between the rebels and pro-government forces are working overtime to commission the state-owned Hama steel plant, providing a much-needed respite to begin reconstruction of infrastructure. In the war-ravaged country, it will be the first public project to begin operation.

In the coming days, the scrap iron smelting plant in Hama will start full production with a capacity of 300,000 mt of steel billets per year, enhanced from the earlier 70,000 mt/year.

“Work is on full-swing. The project is now nearly complete (matter of days),’’ said an ecstatic Tanuj Kumar, Chief Operating Officer-International Business of Apollo International Limited, in an email to DNA, from on site in Hama. Apollo International was awarded the contract for development of the General Company for Iron and Steel Products (GECOSTEEL) in 2008.

Under the India-Syria bilateral co-operation project, India had extended Line of Credit (LOC) for rehabilitation and modernisation of the Hama Iron & Steel Plant  (US $25 million) and extension of the Tishreen Power Plant (US $100 million).

The construction work at the site was mid-way when violence broke down splitting the mass civil protests into an armed conflict with the government security forces. Around 100 Indian nationals were working on the plant in the Western city of Hama, nearly 200 kms north of capital Damascus in April 2011 when work at the plant was suspended. Work at the Tishreen plant also came at a standstill the following year.

After nearly five years of halt period with considerable damage to the machinery and sheds, work restarted in May 2016 on the assurance of Syrian government to provide security. The intensity of the armed conflict had escalated into a regional war and the Syrian government lost control on large swathes of provinces to multitudes of rebel groups, including the al Qaeda aligned Jabhat al Nusrah, the Islamic State and other Islamist militias. Tanuj recalls, that following repeated requests from the government to re-start work as the project is essential to curb steel imports and begin steel production, the company re-assessed the security situation and decided to proceed. “But the key concern remained that rebels, including IS, are at a close distance of 12-15 km from the site.’’

On August 29, rebels, including factions of Free Syrian Army (FSA) and Jund Al-Aqsa group, advanced towards the main city of Hama, 3 kms from the site, with an aim to take control of the airport in Hama from the government. Within an hour, the company evacuated the site and transported all the personnel to Hama where the provincial governor provided them protection and later shifted them to Damascus. For over 40 days, the personnel stayed in Damascus, as the government advised them against moving back to India.

Meanwhile, the Hama offensive launched by the pro-government forces pounded the city under aerial bombardment pushing the rebels back and also causing displacement of over 100,000 civilians between August 28 and September 5. After the Syrian Army took back position the Apollo team was redeployed in October. “But the situation was still very volatile. Heavy fighting was taking place, continuous shelling, firing of rockets and loud noises were heard.’’

The company finds it difficult to work amid such high risks. Threat of armed rebel groups, notorious for kidnapping aside, the cost of operation has increased in the conflict zone. Availability of diesel/petrol is a big issue, cost of food, stay, security is extremely high and movement is restricted. Foreign labourers are reluctant to work in conflict zone, and it is hard to convince local people to come to work risking their lives part where the site is located. Locals from nearby areas work at a special risk allowance, stay at the plant for 7-10 days and then go home for a short break. Presently, more than 130 personnel, many of them local employees, are working.

Due to international sanctions since the start of the civil war, Syria has been unable to trade. India is one of the few countries to have maintained cordial relations, even supportive of President Bashar al Assad’s actions, while the US and European countries demand regime change. “Instead of Western companies, we want to provide opportunity for friendly countries like India in the rebuilding of Syria. Many Indian companies have expressed their desire to work in Syria. We started issuing visa from last year and nearly 400 Indians are already working on ground,’’ said Syria's ambassador to India Dr Riad Abbas.

Apollo’s presence on ground has encouraged other organisations to restart the work. It has also been approached by many local companies to help them in training new manpower, deploying new machinery, equipment. Tanuj says, “People in Syria are suffering due to the war. Inflation is very high. There is an urgency to rebuild infrastructure and restart industry We are trying our best to see how best we can help them out.’’