|
Long reputed for its handicrafts, in particular Damascene brocades, Syria entered the industrial era relatively
late. Handicrafts began to fade out as of the mid 19th century without being replaced by even the smallest industry
worthy of the name before the creation in 1928 of a cement factory in the western suburb of Damascus. In fact,
industrialization started only after World War II, following independence in 1946. Textiles, foodstuffs, and the
building industry were the first sectors to develop spectacularly.
After a first aborted nationalization in 1961, the government put most industries under its control in 1965 and
started to make good the ill balance caused by private investors who were attracted to sectors with immediate profit.
Thus in 1970, metallurgical industries, until then neglected, benefited, as in most developing countries, from
government subsidies, while ore prospecting was encouraged.
A heavy industry, centered in Hama, was programmed in the 4th Five-year PLan which was started in 1975, while Lattakia
started the manufacture of aluminum sheets and profiles. Concerning prospection, the main successes have been the
discovery (and exploitation) of the oil fields in the « Duck's Bill » at the farthermost Northeast
of the country, and of phosphates in the area of Palmyra, where about ten million tons are extracted.
One of the most important industrial consequences of the dam at E-Thawrah, on the Euphrate, is the production of
electric power with an installed power of 800,000 kw, which covers 80% of the country's needs. Other hydro-electric
stations have been erected on the Orontes. Alongside the industrial public sector, a private industrial sector
still exists, stimulated by the competition from the former. It had to prove its vitality in the face of the heavy
administrative machine of the government which did not always have the flexibility needed for covering the actual
needs of each region. In order to realize the great progress made, you must remember that Syrian industry started
from nothing at the end of the Mandate, and the country had practically no experience at all in modern industrialization
and no qualified manpower existed then.
|
|
