Closure of Semalka crossing rises cement prices in NE Syria
HASAKAH, Syria (North Press) – Building material prices, especially cement, have spiked recently in northeast Syria due to the continued closure of the Semalka-Faysh Khabour border crossing.
On May 11, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) closed the border crossing, which links the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) and northeast Syria, until further notice and without giving details.
Saeed Muhammad, 38, a resident of al-Mufti neighborhood in Hasakah city who is working on his new home, told North Press that each bag of cement cost him 40,000 [$4.5] Syrian pounds before the closure. Now, however, “each bag costs 100,000 [$11] Syrian pounds.”
The problem is not limited to its high prices as it has also become so difficult to secure cement, he said.
Zanar Abdullah, the owner of Iman Center, a building materials shop, told North Press that since the crossing’s closure, “cement has become so scarce as owners of brick factories rush to buy it for fear that production would stop.”
Iron prices have also hiked between $10 to $20 per ton. However, the material is available, unlike cement which has almost disappeared and obtaining it has become so difficult, the dealer said.
Abdullah noted that there are attempts by building material traders to secure the material through other crossings, but that the price will be extremely high.
The Semalka–Faysh Khabur is one of the most crucial border crossings for the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), especially after the closure of al-Ya’rubiyah (Tel Kocher) border crossing in 2020 due to a Russian-Chinese veto.