regional_planning – Syria Report

Posts

SSG Draws Attention with Quickly Adopted New Zoning Plans

07-02-2024/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

Since the end of 2023, the Ministry of Local Administration and Services under the Syrian Salvation Government (SSG) has been adopting new zoning plans for cities and towns within its areas of influence in northwest Syria. The ministry also sent notification memos to residents in some towns specifying the areas of their property cut by the new plans while allowing those affected to object to other plans not yet approved.

Mohammad Said Al-Ashqar, an advisor to the Minister of Local Administration, told a correspondent for The Syria Report that the final versions of the zoning plans adopted by the ministry update some old plans, some of which were issued in the 1980s. Engineering committees affiliated with the Directorate of Urban Planning in the Ministry of Local Administration and Services worked on updating those plans. The directorate, reactivated in November 2023, includes urban planning, plans and documents, and topography departments. Its tasks involve preparing planning studies, general and detailed zoning plans for cities and urban settlements, developing a land classification guide, determining expropriation areas for public benefit, and more.

There is no general plan that outlines the future vision for population centres in Idlib, as it remains unstable due to war and repeated displacement. However, the Ministry of Local Administration and Services is attempting to establish a planning program as a basis for the general and detailed zoning plans adopted by the central municipalities, according to Al-Ashqar.

The Ministry of Local Administration and Services recently formed Regional Technical Committees affiliated with the Directorate of Urban Planning. These committees are authorised to review amendments to building code regulations, consider objections to announced zoning plans, and amend or approve them. The committees are led by the Minister of Local Administration and Services and include the director of the Directorate of Urban Planning, the mayor of the concerned municipality, and three consulting architectural engineers. They may also consult experts to decide on objections to the zoning plans. These Regional Technical Committees have addressed objections previously submitted (between 2021 and 2022) to some of the announced zoning plans at that stage.

In an unexpectedly swift decision, the Ministry of Local Administration adopted the final versions of some of these zoning plans after the committees had finished considering the objections. The ministry sequentially announced through its official channels the adoption of new zoning plans for the cities of Harem and Sarmada and the towns of Kafr Takharim and Al-Hamama at the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.

At the same time, the SSG Ministry of Local Administration announced through its official channels the opportunity to object to the zoning plans for the city of Salqin, the city of Dana, the towns of Maland and Janoudia, and the city of Atarib in the western part of the Aleppo governorate. Copies of the new zoning plans open for objection were displayed on the notice boards of the concerned municipalities. In all these announcements, the ministry gave those wishing to object a one-month deadline to register their objections. After the final decision on these objections, it is assumed that the plan will be referred for final approval at the ministry.

It is essential to note the similarities between Idlib’s directorates, institutions, and committees and those in regime-controlled areas. For example, the Directorate of Urban Planning in Idlib performs similar tasks to the directorates of planning and urban development of some governorate councils in regime-controlled areas. Meanwhile, the regional technical committees perform tasks similar to those of the Regional Planning Authority and the Supreme Council for Regional Planning in regime-controlled areas. Moreover, the SSG’s procedures for approving zoning plans do not differ from those stipulated in the Urban Planning Law No. 5 of 1982, which is still followed in regime-controlled areas regarding methods for developing general and detailed zoning plans, deadlines for objections, and their approval.

Mr Al-Ashqar clarified that the newly announced zoning plans did not include new expropriations. Instead, they aimed to establish urban foundations to determine the locations of central streets and their expansions, parks, and service and administrative centres that serve the population clusters. However, The Syria Report’s correspondent pointed out some confusion and chaos in implementing the new zoning plans in Idlib. For example, the new zoning plan for the town of Kafr Takharim, part of the Sarmada municipality, was issued on December 30, 2023. At the beginning of 2024, the municipality warned owners of commercial shops and homes on Bazaar Street and the second-hand market to evacuate because their properties were included in the public road expansion under the new zoning plan.

The notification method was relatively unusual, as phrases like “Demolish distance of X metres in length” were written on the walls of these properties. The affected parties consulted the Sarmada municipality, which sent a new technical committee that issued written warnings to the property owners, requiring them to evacuate. On January 10, the municipality sent a new committee that informed some of the affected individuals about the reduction in the demolition area of their properties to minimise damages. This committee also confirmed the demolition area for the rest of the properties and cancelled the demolition for some others.

Damascus City Conceals Identity of Company Commissioned to Design its Master Plan

05-12-2023/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

The Director of Zoning and Urban Planning in Damascus governorate, Hassan Tarablusi, stated during a council meeting on November 7 that the governorate signed a contract with a company to study the master plan, also called the general zoning plan, for Damascus and its surroundings, covering an area of 59,000 hectares. Of this area, 11,000 hectares are within the city limits, and the rest are within the borders of the Rural Damascus Governorate. Mr Tarablusi mentioned that the Damascus and Rural Damascus governorates are working in coordination with each other to complete the plan.

Three zoning plans have been issued for Damascus: the first in 1937, the second in 1968, and the last in 2001. Since 2015, there has been talk of a new zoning plan for the city that considers various urban changes. The 2001 plan, prepared by the General Company for Engineering Studies (GCES) under the Ministry of Public Works and Housing, covers an area of 30,000 hectares, including parts of nearby Rural Damascus.

The zoning plan is a mechanism for implementing laws of zoning and real estate development and for removing informal settlements. Urban Planning Law No. 5 of 1982 outlines the process for issuing zoning plans; first, the Ministry of Public Works and Housing establishes the urban planning foundations for the area to meet the population needs within the broader scope of regional planning. Subsequently, the concerned administrative unit creates a planning program and initial concepts for the general zoning plan. If the Ministry approves the initial concept of the general plan, the administrative unit, in cooperation with the GCES, prepares the general and detailed zoning plan according to Law No. 5.

The GCES, established in 1980, was merged with the General Company for Water Studies under Law No. 12 of 2019, which indicates the company’s primary role in zoning and planning studies and in verifying these studies. The company has 11 engineering directorates covering most engineering specialisations, with more than 2,200 employees, including about 800 engineers. It has executed dozens of projects and issued zoning plans for governorates, including Damascus. The company actively works in urban planning and issuing zoning plans, often in collaboration with Damascus University, the Syndicate of Engineers, the Institute of Regional Planning affiliated with Damascus University, and the Higher Regional Planning Council (HRPC).

However, due to operational difficulties and to overcome bureaucracy and delays in the issuance of plans, it has become customary for administrative units to delegate the task of preparing general and detailed zoning plans to licensed private engineering companies. This process is carried out according to rules and procedures stipulated by the Public contract regulations issued by Law No. 51 of 2004.

Therefore, it is surprising that the Damascus governorate or its officials have made no statement regarding the company’s identity conducting the current study or how the contract was signed without announcing a tender or soliciting bids. There is a rumour in the Damascus governorate that the private company involved belongs to a businessman allied with the regime.

The Prime Minister has the right to compel the Damascus Governorate to work with the GCES, according to Article 7 of Law No. 12 of 2019. But it is unclear why he did not do that, especially when the Syrian government is trying to reduce its investment expenditures and costs to face the country’s economic crisis. Instead of contracting with public entities, the Damascus governorate has resorted to contracting with a private company without disclosing its identity and apparently without going through a tendering process. This is at a time when the Damascus governorate is neglecting some of its service plans under the pretext of a lack of resources.

This is not the governorate’s first attempt to pass along such contracts. Three years ago, it proposed transforming Damascus into a “Smart City” that optimally uses resources and electronically controls various public services. At the time, the governorate tried to quietly approve a contract with an unidentified company to carry out the project. The governorate officials then justified resorting to a private company to circumvent international sanctions and attract investors capable of bringing in modern technology without exposing them to sanctions.

Although the “Smart City” project was not completed, governorate officials said that the first step towards a smart city would begin with relieving the city of traffic congestion. At that time, the Masaffat Company won a contract for paid car parking services on the streets of Damascus. The company is owned by Syrian businessman Khodr Ali Taher, known as Abu Ali Khodr, who is considered close to the Syrian regime and has been on the US sanctions list since 2020.

Industrial Zones in Opposition-Held Territory

23-05-2023/in HLP, News /by Rand Shamaa

Recent years have seen industrial zones established on agricultural lands in rural northern parts of the Aleppo governorate controlled by the Syrian Interim Government (SIG). These zones are spread out across the countryside outside Al-Bab, Al-Rai, Azaz, Jarablus, Maraa, and Souran and are known as industrial cities.

Legislative Decree No. 57 of 2004 regarding the establishment of industrial cities in Syria, as well as Legislative Decree No. 22 of 2013, which amended it, stipulated establishing just four industrial cities: the Sheikh Najjar Industrial City in Aleppo governorate, the Hasya Industrial City in Homs governorate, the Adra Industrial City in Rural Damascus governorate and another one in Deir-ez-Zor governorate. Under Decree No. 22, these industrial cities are legal entities with financial and administrative independence. However, they are affiliated with the Ministry of Local Administration. They are treated as if they were actual cities managed by a city council and a governor. Members of these city councils include the relevant governorate’s finance directors, electricity companies and service directorates. Later, these industrial cities were run under the provisions of Local Administration Law No. 107 of 2011. Decree No. 22 also authorises the establishment of new industrial cities based on proposals by the minister and per regional planning trends and regulatory principles for urban planning. Decree No. 57 affirmed that administrative entities must complete the infrastructure for industrial cities and equip them with all the needed services and facilities such as electricity, water, roads, sewage networks, communications, civil defence centres, police, rehabilitation and training centres and medical centres. This all comes before licensing the area’s subdivisions and offering them for investment.

Meanwhile, the regulations for industrial zones are subject to various laws, the latest of which is Prime Ministerial Decision No. 66 of 2018 on the system for establishing, implementing and investing in industrial and craft zones within administrative units. Under Decision No. 66, industrial zones should be on lands owned by the state or local administrative units or on confiscated lands. This Decision also stipulated that the implementing party comply with the approved general and detailed zoning plans for the area, following regional planning guidelines. Decision No. 66 did not grant independent legal status to industrial zones, instead classifying them as falling within local administrative units.

Authorities in opposition-held areas in Syria no longer adhere to the laws and decrees most recently issued by Damascus. However, according to the previous and existing laws, the newly established industrial clusters in rural northern Aleppo governorate cannot be considered industrial cities but industrial zones. These zones were built on agricultural lands where construction was not permitted according to the local zoning plans. Some of these lands were privately owned, purchased from the owners and converted into multiple subdivisions designated for construction, as in Maraa and Souran. Others were built on abandoned public lands where local residents were entitled to usufruct, such as in the case of Al-Rai and Azaz.

Further, those constructing these industrial zones did not consider their location concerning neighbouring residential communities. Under Decision No. 66, local administrative units must choose the site of an industrial zone after considering the zoning principles, environmental criteria and proximity to residential communities. Such zones must not be expanded on agricultural lands, as this would violate housing, land, and property rights due to damage to agricultural lands and neighbouring residential communities.

Decision No. 66 also required local administrative units to put zoning and subdivision plans for industrial zones that comply with the general zoning plans and allow multi-storey buildings to accommodate industrial production. However, the new industrial zones in rural northern Aleppo did not consider the area’s general zoning plans, despite having their own specific plans. This means a total deviation from such zoning plans and construction of buildings without adhering to technical conditions on agricultural lands, which might not be suitable for multi-storey construction.

Furthermore, the plots within these new industrial zones were sold without imposing special conditions on the buyers. Instead, buyers were enticed to make the purchases by being granted commercial entry into Turkey if they agreed to set up their facilities within these industrial zone plots. As a result, most buyers ended up simply reselling their plots as they intended to profit and obtain commercial entry permits into Turkey. More than half of the plots within these new industrial zones have, as a result, remained without constructing any industrial facilities on them. Decree No. 22 prohibited selling unconstructed plots within industrial cities more than once after fully paying their value to the industrial city. Buyers were also required to commit to building on their plots according to the regulations of the industrial city. Selling subdivisions after the completion of construction is allowed with the approval of the industrial city management.