Nasib–Damascus highway rebuild begins as Jordan expands Jaber

On 22 September 2026, Syria's General Establishment for Road Transportation, part of the Ministry of Transport, signed a contract with Kuwait's Combined Group Contracting Company (CGC) to maintain and rehabilitate the international Nasib–Damascus highway, Enab Baladi reported. The contractor's machinery had already crossed into Daraa on 4 September.

The works cover about 100 km: removing damaged asphalt and laying new layers, repairing barriers and road structures, maintaining bridges, and adding road markings, signs and groundwork for lighting. The contract is worth more than $46 million after a $2 million reduction and runs for 400 days. The ministry says it is paid for from the state budget, not by a World Bank grant.

• Signed 22 Sep 2026; work to start within 15 days
• About 100 km; over $46 million; 400 days
• New asphalt, barriers, bridges, signs, lighting groundwork

On the other side of the border, Jordan has equipped a new area at the Jaber border center with technology to speed up the entry of commercial trucks from Syria. The acting governor of Mafraq told the Petra news agency on 15 September that it holds about 200 loaded trucks, and that an operations room linked to the agencies at the crossing is being set up to cut routine procedures.

Jordan also plans to widen truck and bus lanes at Jaber during 2027–2029. Both countries signed an agreement on 24 November 2025 to expand the Nasib–Jaber crossing on each side.

• Space for about 200 loaded trucks
• Operations room to cut routine procedures
• Lane expansion planned for 2027–2029

Syria's General Authority for Ports and Customs counted 50,272 trucks through Nasib from January to the end of May 2026: 18,374 entering Syria and 31,898 leaving it. Jordan's Department of Statistics put Jordanian exports to Syria at about JD101 million (around $142 million) in the first four months of 2026, up 38.4% on a year earlier, while imports from Syria fell 42.9% to about JD12 million.

• 50,272 trucks through Nasib, Jan–May 2026
• Jordan's exports to Syria up 38.4% (Jan–Apr)
• Jordan's imports from Syria down 42.9% (Jan–Apr)

The Nasib–Damascus road is the southern end of a corridor of more than 400 km that runs from the Jordanian border through Damascus, Homs and Aleppo. It is the main overland link for trade between Syria, Jordan and the Gulf, and the route trailers from the UAE take after crossing Saudi Arabia and Jordan. A resurfaced highway means safer running and less wear on trucks, and more holding space with fewer routine steps at Jaber could shorten waiting at the border.

Both projects are at an early stage. The highway contract runs for 400 days, so expect sections under repair along the way, and allow some margin in transit plans until the works are finished.

• Safer road leg once resurfaced
• Potentially shorter waits at Jaber
• Expect roadworks during the 400-day contract

MIDTRANS SHIPPING AND SERVICES arranges road freight to Syria, including trailers from the UAE through Saudi Arabia and Jordan to the Nasib crossing, and handles the border paperwork and Syrian customs clearance. Ask us for an overland quote and the current transit time for your cargo.

• Enab Baladi — Rehabilitation of the Nassib-Damascus Highway, Agreement Signed After Machinery Arrives · 2026-09-22
• Enab Baladi — Jordan Boosts Jaber Crossing Readiness for Syrian Trucks · 2026-09-16