Dealing with Construction Permits in
Syrian Arab Republic
Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections.
The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.
-
Building a warehouse
-
Estimated Warehouse Value:
SYP 19,509,000
- City: Damascus
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Obtain certificate of land ownership
Land ownership documents should be attached to the application for a building permit, and should be less than 3 months old. The certificate of land ownership is obtained at the Real Estate Authority located in the Property Registry.
Agency: Property Registry
|
1 day
|
SYP 50
|
| 2 |
Submit application for zoning clearance
Damascus is divided into organizational zones (مناطق تنظيم) and planning zones (مناطق تخطيط). Zoning clearance (بيان عقاري) is required even if the warehouse is to be built in the correct commercial/ industrial zone.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 3 |
Receive municipal inspection
An official will visit the location automatically, without notification or prior arrangement. However and in most cases the contractor would accompany the official to show him the exact location.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 4 |
Obtain zoning clearance from the municipality
Most industrial buildings are located outside the planning zones (the assumed warehouse falls under this category). In this case, the application is studied back and forth by the municipality and the Executive Office of the Governorate (المكتب التنفيذي للمحافظة). The latter approves the communication (بلاغ) and sends it to the municipality.
Agency: Municipality
|
7 days
|
no charge
|
| 5 |
Obtain approval of project designs and drawings from the Engineering Syndicate
This procedure is necessary because an “employed” engineer cannot do it. The engineer has to be appointed by the Engineering Syndicate. Fees are 3.33% of the estimated cost value as set by the Ministry of Construction and Development (وزارة الإنشاء والتعمير), which is SYP 8,500/ sq. m. for commercial buildings. The 3.33% consists of: 1. 2.5% divided into: (i) 26% for architectural designer (مصمم معماري) + 18% for the implementation (ii) 28% for installation designer (مصمم إنشائي) + 22% for the implementation (iii) 6% for sanitary designer (مصمم صحي) 2. 1/3 of 2.5 % (0.83%) for the checker (مدقق) Thus, the total fees are 4/3 * 2.5% *8,500 * 13, 00.6 = SYP 368,503.
Agency: Engineering Syndicate
|
30 days
|
SYP 368,503
|
| 6 |
Obtain building permit
A building license is valid for 2 years and may be extended for another year. BuildCo should submit the engineer’s drafts/ designs and corresponding approvals and the land title.
Agency: Municipality
|
30 days
|
SYP 250,000
|
| 7 |
Submit report to the municipality and request foundation inspection
Both the site-engineer (مهندس مقيم) and the supervising engineer (مهندس مشرف) are in charge of reporting to the municipality and to request inspection at 5 points during construction as following: foundations, two columns, first floor ceiling, and second floor ceiling.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 8 |
Receive foundation inspection from the municipality
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 9 |
Submit report to the municipality and request inspection of columns I
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 10 |
Receive columns inspection I
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 11 |
Submit report to the municipality and requests inspection of columns II
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 12 |
Receive columns inspection II
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 13 |
Submit report to the municipality and request inspection of first floor ceiling
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 14 |
Receive first floor ceiling inspection
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 15 |
Submit report to the municipality and request inspection of second floor ceiling
The inspection is usually done 3 days after written notification is given. BuildCo must suspend construction until after the inspection or face a fine. Although SYP 500 is the official fee, it is not uncommon to pay around SYP 2,000, which includes unofficial payments.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 16 |
Receive inspection of second floor ceiling
The inspection is usually done 3 days after written notification is given. BuildCo must suspend construction until after the inspection or face a fine.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 17 |
Obtain approval of the completion of building process
Before granting the approval, municipal authorities conduct an on-site inspection.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 18 |
Apply for water connection
BuildCo must submit the documentation for water connection, including all approvals obtained up to this stage.
Agency: Public Establishment for Distribution and Exploitation of Electrical Energy (PEDEEE)
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 19 |
Receive inspection from the Water Authority
Agency: Water Authority
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 20 |
Obtain water connection
Normally, the customer buys the pipes necessary for the connection and lays them out as the distance (10 m.) is short. The final connection however (meter installation) is done by the Water Authority. Meter installation fees are around SYP 5,000 and price of the pipelines is about SYP 300/ m.
Agency: Water Authority
|
4 days
|
SYP 8,000
|
| * 21 |
Apply for telephone line
Agency: Syria Telecom
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 22 |
Receive inspection by telecommunications provider
Agency: Syria Telecom
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 23 |
Obtain telephone line
Agency: Syria Telecom
|
17 days
|
SYP 5,000
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.