Government Terminates Wassim Qattan’s Contract for Yalbugha Real Estate Complex

On February 4, the caretaker government’s Ministry of Religious Endowments issued Decision No. 23 terminating the contract for the preparation, investment, and management of the Yalbugha Complex site in Damascus. The complex, built on properties numbered 861 to 877 within the Bahsa and Sanjaqdar real estate areas, includes buildings and facilities owned by the Ministry.

The decision was based on the provisions of the constitution, Legislative Decree No. 20 of 2018, which regulates the ministry’s operations, public interest requirements, and a request from the Damascus Endowments Directorate (Letter No. 151, dated January 25, 2025) calling for necessary measures regarding the endowment properties.

Originally, the site of the complex was a mosque built during the Mamlouk era by Prince SaifEddin Yalbugha in 1347. Over time, it suffered partial collapses. In 1973, the Military Housing Establishment (MHE) was commissioned to demolish the mosque and construct a cultural centre and an Islamic institute in its place. However, the project encountered multiple difficulties, primarily due to groundwater seepage during excavation, which necessitated a decade of drainage operations due to poor technical planning. In 1990, the MHE resumed work, completed the structural framework, and in 2004 handed it over to the Ministry of Religious Endowments. The complex consists of 11 floors and occupies a land area of 4,500 square metres.

Since then, the complex has remained in an unfinished, skeletal state. The ministry put it up for investment several times, signing contracts with various companies to complete and operate it, only to later terminate those contracts without explanation. Among these were Mesca Company (Saudi Arabia) in 2006 and Queen Palace Company (UAE) in 2008.

In January 2019, the Ministry of Religious Endowments signed an investment contract with Intersection Limited Liability Company, owned by Wassim Anwar Qattan, for an annual fee of SYP 1.70 billion. The company was expected to immediately begin finishing and outfitting the complex, then operate it as a commercial and tourism hub featuring restaurants, halls, malls, and a parking facility for 48 years. However, since then, no significant progress has been made in completing or furnishing the complex.

Wassim Qattan was a prominent businessman under the Assad regime, serving as president of the Rural Damascus Chamber of Commerce between 2018 and 2020. He had secured several major investment contracts, including Qasioun Mall, Massa Plaza Mall, and Al-Jalaa Hotel. In 2020, he was placed under U.S. and E.U. sanctions for financially supporting the regime. In September 2023, illegal basement expansions in one of his buildings in the Maliki neighbourhood led to balcony collapses. Beyond the construction violation, security concerns escalated when it was revealed that Mr Qattan had undertaken unauthorised work involving heavy machinery in a sensitive area near the residence of the deposed president, Bashar Al-Assad. This resulted in a wave of arrests in Damascus and was deemed a serious security breach.

The Ministry of Religious Endowments did not specify the reason for terminating the contract with Intersection. However, ministry sources told The Syria Report that the annual investment amount was disproportionately low given the project’s scale and expected financial returns. They also cited the company’s failure to fulfil its contractual obligations. Another informed source told The Syria Report that investing the Yalbugha Complex in this manner contradicts the objectives of Islamic law (Maqasid al-Sharia), which mandates that endowment properties be used for charitable and benevolent projects that benefit the public. Establishing a tourism complex with restaurants that may feature music and entertainment was deemed inconsistent with Islamic principles and the conditions set by the original endower. The argument is that no one who donates a property for religious purposes would consent to it being used for commercial investments.

The termination decision included the seizure of the company’s paid deposits, a demand for compensation for any potential damages, and the initiation of legal procedures to reclaim the property through enforced execution. The company may resort to legal action to seek compensation from the ministry for the termination.

Notably, Endowments Law No. 31 of 2018 does not grant the ministry the authority to unilaterally terminate contracts. Instead, it requires the ministry to go through the judiciary for termination in cases of exploitation or non-compliance with Islamic endowment purposes. However, the direct termination of this contract raises legal debates, particularly as the investor may challenge it in court or seek damages, putting the ministry in a critical legal and administrative test. While corruption and contract violations have been cited as justifications, the chosen legal approach may provoke legal disputes and lawsuits.

The termination decision did not outline the ministry’s next steps, whether it intends to reopen investment opportunities, seek a new investor, or repurpose the complex into a non-profit endowment facility. This lack of clarity leaves the project’s future uncertain, particularly as the complex has remained stalled for decades despite repeated investment attempts. The situation raises questions about the ministry’s plans for managing this property in the future.