Government Amends Conditions for Investing in IDP Lands

The Damascus-run Idlib Governorate continues to offer vacant lands belonging to forcibly displaced individuals, now living outside regime-controlled areas, for investment through public auctions, following an official and routine process. After conducting auctions for pistachio farms in September, preparations have begun for auctions of vacant treeless land. The governorate introduces new amendments each time it re-announces these auctions.

As in previous auctions, the governorate’s recent announcements for investing in vacant treeless lands through public auctions—issued in late September and on October 20 and 21—are based on the Unified Contracting System outlined in Law No. 51 of 2004, as well as Circular No. 289 from the Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, issued on May 16, 2024. These lands are typically cultivated with wheat or barley.

Separate auction sessions were held for treeless lands administratively linked to the areas of Saraqib and Abu Al-Duhur, Maarrat Al-Numan, and Khan Sheikhoun between November 14 and 16. The initial deposit required to participate in the auctions varies based on proximity to opposition frontlines, ranging from SYP 4,000 per dunum in the farthest areas to SYP 8,000 in the closest. Previously, the deposit was a fixed amount of SYP 50,000 per dunum across all areas. However, due to investor demands for lower deposits and in a bid to encourage commitment to contracts, the governorate reduced the deposits and made them proportional to the distance from the frontlines. Higher deposits near frontlines aim to incentivise serious investment and deter withdrawal to avoid losing the deposit.

In another new amendment, the governorate now requires investors to pay 50 percent of the final auction price immediately after winning. If the investor fails to make the payment, the land is immediately re-auctioned in the same session. This condition was added to reduce contract withdrawals due to investors failing to meet their financial obligations.

Other standard auction conditions remain unchanged, including a final deposit of 10 percent of the auction’s total value, a fee of SYP 50,000 for obtaining the technical dossier, and a restriction preventing investors from including more than one cadastral area in a single application.

Unlike previous rounds, the recent auctions did not include separate sessions specifically for relatives of land owners. Instead, the new announcements required relatives to mutually agree on one investor among them, who must present inheritance or family registry documents proving their relation to the owner of the vacant land.

The new public auctions for treeless lands for the 2024–2025 agricultural season coincided with the General Organisation for Seed Multiplication setting the price of one kilogramme of wheat seeds at SYP 6,000. At the same time, Idlib Governorate has mandated that both investors and landowners within the area adhere to the 2025 agricultural plan, which specifies the crops to be cultivated. Consequently, investors are prohibited from planting wheat in areas designated for barley, and vice versa.