Salvation Government Studies Expanding Idlib City Zoning Plan

According to Announcement No. 853 on May 9, the Ministry of Local Administration and Services of the Syrian Salvation Government has started accepting objections, comments, and suggestions on the current zoning plan of the city of Idlib, issued in 2005. This initiative is accompanied by a topographic survey of the city, which has become the SSG’s administrative centre, in order to expand its zoning plan to accommodate the urban and population growth over the past years.

The current population of Idlib City is 374,000, based on the latest statistics from the Assistance Coordination Unit (ACU) of October 2023. This figure includes both original residents and displaced people. In 2010, the city’s population was estimated at around 165,000. The significant population increase has been the primary driver for revising the city’s zoning plan to meet the vital needs of the residents.

Since November 2023, the Urban Planning Directorate in the Ministry of Local Administration has been preparing planning studies and general and detailed zoning plans for cities and urban settlements in areas under SSG control in northwestern Syria. During this period, the directorate has completed new zoning plans for several cities and towns, including Harem, Sarmada, Salqin, and Dana, and has approved them after reviewing objections. The directorate is currently receiving objections to the zoning plan of Darat Izza in western Aleppo.

Announcements about the opening for objections to the zoning plans are posted on municipal notice boards, but they are not published on the municipalities’ social media pages. To object to the plan, a formal objection application must be submitted using an approved form available at central municipalities and their reception centres. The application must be accompanied by documents related to the subject property, including a cadastral plan, a real estate record proving ownership, and a handwritten letter explaining the objection, signed by the objector or their agent. All these documents should be compiled in one file, which should also contain the personal information of the objector.

Within the file, the objector must also submit a sketch showing the current status of their property within the zoning plan and another sketch with a proposed amendment to their property’s status, a correspondent for The Syria Report explained. Both sketches must clearly include the property number and coordinates at a 1:2000 scale. A survey committee approved by the Ministry prepares these sketches, and the objector bears the cost of their preparation.

Despite the deadline for objections to Idlib City’s zoning plan having officially ended on June 9, the Directorate is still accepting objections and applications.

Meanwhile, the Ministry will propose an expansion project for Idlib City’s zoning plan once the review of the current plan’s objections is complete. Mohammad Al-Ashqar, Director of the Urban Planning Directorate, told The Syria Report that there are no specific conditions for expanding Idlib’s zoning plan. Instead, urban planning standards regarding population density, public facilities, and streets will be used. The expansion work, including the review of objections, is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.

The proposed expansion will add 400 hectares to the current plan’s 800 hectares, resulting in a total urban plan area of about 1,200 hectares. Currently, there is no intention to expropriate new properties, but an expropriation plan may be considered after the expansion project is confirmed. According to Mr Al-Ashqar, the expansion of Idlib City’s plan is expected to accommodate about 150,000 people, equivalent to around 30,000 families.

Mahmoud Abadi, a structural engineering consultant, told The Syria Report that the expansion should accommodate population and urban growth for at least 40 years. Mr Abadi, a resident of Idlib, suggested that the expansion include the creation of residential suburbs on state-owned lands southwest of the town of Kafr Jales and Wadi Khaled in the city’s vicinity. He also proposed incorporating private agricultural lands bordered by the Idlib City Corniche into the residential areas within the expansion project. Alongside the expansion, building code in Idlib City should be revised to specify the allowed number of floors, lighting and ventilation conditions, structural safety, and adherence to the Syrian Arab Code for the Design and Implementation of Reinforced Concrete Structures.