North-Press Agency
More than three years after the war stopped in the industrial region of Aramousa in the city of Aleppo’s south, the neighborhood suffers from of lack in services and labor market stagnation, though it is the most popular region for the manufacture and maintenance of auto parts.
Aramousa did not get enough of the share of Syrian government efforts, and the region still suffers from a serious lack of services that negatively affect its return to a main destination for repairing cars.
Bakri al-Sayad, the owner of a body shop in Aramousa, told North-Press that his expectations were unrealized when he moved the workshop from Salah ad-Din district to Aramousa six months ago. “The region, which lacks services and even electricity, is the most basic component of the industrial zone. Car owners no longer pass through; as soon as it gets dark the whole area becomes like a ghost town."
But Omar Kayali, who sells Volvo spare parts in Aleppo, told North-Press that despite the committees we formed to cooperate with Aleppo governorate in order to develop and service the Aramousa, “we have gotten only words and a fraction of the services."
He clarified that the municipality committees and service workshops of the governorate have removed debris and rehabilitated the roads. "But we still need electricity and service centers like the mail and telephone."
In Aramousa, there are a number of workshops that cannot function as before due to the battles that took place between armed opposition groups and Syrian government forces. This led to a big destruction of infrastructure and rendered most of the public facilities in the area non-functional.
Ahmad al-Maairy, a diesel and agricultural tractor parts shop owner, told North-Press that most customers and car owners are currently abstaining from coming to Aramousa, due to the presence of industrial areas within the city such as al-Mashirqa and Sulaymaniyah, as well as poor infrastructure and services in Aramousa.
He added that after the region is qualified and services secured, workshops and stalls within the city should be transferred to Aramousa. This would help the revival of Aramousa to return to being a destination for car owners.
Nomayr al-Aqad, an administrator in the Aleppo Industry Department, told North- Press that the Aleppo Industry Department, in cooperation with the governorate, Aleppo Municipality, and even the Military Housing Corporation are making efforts to implement projects through which infrastructure is restored, and “for Aramousa to become a key industrial area for the manufacture and maintenance of vehicles and agricultural machinery.”
He added that government plans for restoring services to Aramousa are being carried out at a slow pace because of the exceptional circumstances that the Syrian economy is experiencing.”