Desert border crossing open again
The regional economy has suffered greatly for the last three years on account of the closure of the border between Syria and Jordan. Now that it has been re-opened, DP World organised a convoy running from Dubai to Syria and back.
Before the Syrian civil war broke out the Jaber-Nasib border crossing between Jordan and Syria was one of the most important regional trade corridors. Around 350 lorries, carrying consumer goods, foodstuffs and cars, crossed into Syria there every day, with some continuing to other countries.
In spring 2015 rebels conquered the area, which resulted in the closure of the border. From an economic point of view, this was bad news for many countries – most of all for Jordan.
Before the Syrian civil war devastated the region, 70% of all Jordanian imports and exports used the Jaber-Nasib border post. Jordanian enterprises prefer to use the roads to transport shipments to Turkey or the Gulf region, as the maritime route via the southern Jordanian port of Aqaba is around thrice as expensive. The Jordanian the transport and logistics industry thus suffered. Estimates have it that the sector lost as much as approximately USD 500 million on account of the closure.
Towards the end of last year the Syrian army regained control of the area, and from mid-October onwards the border was gradually re-opened. At the end of the year DP World sought to make the 2,500 km transport corridor seamlessly usable from the United Arab Emirates all the way through to Syria.
Foodstuffs to a crisis-torn region
DP World teamed up with a local logistics provider to organise a convoy of three trucks to serve the route, carrying dry and reefer products from the Jafza free-trade zone in Dubai to Syria. The convoy’s transit time came to six days – at the height of the civil war it had stood at 24 days. On their return the trucks transported fruit and vegetables to the UAE.
Lebanon needs Gulf access
DP World carried out a comprehensive assessment on the ground before it dispatched the lorries through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, talking to the various local customs authorities, amongst other parties. Now that the transport corridors has been rejuvenated, goods flows are likely to ease in the future. Such a development would be particularly in Lebanon’s interest. The small Mediterranean state suffered greatly on account of the lack of links to and from the Gulf region, with Lebanese exports to Gulf markets cut in half in the time the crossing was closed.