DAMASCUS, Oct 21: Syria's post-civil war reconstruction could cost up to $216 billion, the World Bank said in a report on Tuesday that follows over 13 years of conflict in the country.
Reconstruction is one of the most significant challenges facing Syria's new Islamist authorities after the overthrow of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December.
"Syria's reconstruction costs are estimated at $216 billion after more than thirteen years of conflict," the World Bank said in its latest report, which it said assessed "infrastructure and building assets, covering the period from 2011 to 2024".
The Syrian civil war, which erupted in 2011 with Assad's brutal repression of anti-government protests, killed over half a million people and devastated the country's infrastructure.
"The conflict has damaged nearly one-third of Syria's pre-conflict gross capital stock, with direct physical damages to infrastructure, residential buildings, and non-residential buildings estimated at $108 billion," the report said.
Among the categories assessed, infrastructure was the hardest hit, accounting for 48 percent of total damage, equivalent to $52 billion.
The report estimates costs of physical assets to range between $140 billion and $345 billion, "with a conservative best estimate" of $216 billion. "AFP
