Lattakia is one of the lungs of Syria.
Most of her imports and exports pass through Lattakia, which is also the
end of the overland route from Europe through Turkey.
It is only natural therefore that the Syrian government should have
taken particular care to develop the city.
Already are achieved: the construction of the rail link with the Ghab,
opened in 1976; the of a "duty-free zone" covering 75 hectares (it is
the most extensive in Syria, a third of it is already open) the
construction of giant refrigerated stores; as well as the development of
the port itself and the improvement of its loading and unloading
facilities.
The city itself reflects this urge to expand. Wide two-lane boulevards
have been built to take the increased traffic. A modern functional
administrative center now faces the sea from the center of the city.
The port is impressive with its 45 hectares of basins, 1,700 meters of
docks, 90,000 square meters of warehouses, and its immense silo that can
hold 35,000 tons of grain. There are about one hundred various service
vessels. Passengers heading to Cyprus, Beirut, Alexandria and the
western Mediterranean embark at the north quay. A huge building houses
the Customs and Security services, the Tourist Information bureau and
all the amenities of the port side railway station. Nonetheless,
facilities are now over stretched by the ever-increasing traffic, and
45,000 square meters have been taken over at Squbin and another 113,000
m at Singllin. There are therefore plans to expand structures, improve
existing equipment, increase traffic further and to reach a storage
capacity of seven million tons. |
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