DAMASCUS: The cost of the devastating conflict in Syria has topped the $1.5 trillion mark, a study published in the country’s daily Al Watan said yesterday, as bombings, fighting and sabotage take their toll.
If the war in Syria suddenly stopped and reconstruction began now, some $73bn would be needed to put the country back on track, said the study in the newspaper, which is close to the regime of Bashar Al Assad.
Quoting Syrian real estate expert Ammar Yussef, the report said bombings, fighting and sabotage of infrastructure during the conflict had partially or completely destroyed 1.5 million dwellings for a total cost of $1.573 trillion.
The report added reconstruction — if it started now — would involve 10,000 building sites, 15,000 trucks, 10,000 cement mixers and some six million workers.
AFP
