LONDON: More than 12 years after it was destroyed by fighting during Syria’s civil war, the Kenamat Bridge in Deir Ezzor is being rebuilt. Crews this week began to clear the ruins of the old crossing, local media reported on Thursday.
The work is part of a Directorate of Technical Services plan, announced this year, to repair war-damaged infrastructure and restore vital bridges across the province, Deir Ezzor Media Directorate said in a message posted on Facebook.
Before the war, Deir Ezzor was known as the “city of bridges” thanks to the many crossings that spanned the Euphrates and its branches. Ten bridges once connected the neighborhoods on opposite banks, including two for pedestrians and eight for vehicles.
Years of fighting destroyed eight of them, including a French-built suspension bridge from the 1920s that was considered an architectural landmark.
With most of the crossings destroyed or unusable, residents have faced persistent problems moving between neighborhoods on opposite sides of the river.
On Tuesday, the General Corporation for Road Transport said that reconstruction of Al-Seyasiya Bridge in Deir Ezzor city was about 95 percent complete.
And local officials said the Kenamat project is another early sign of broader reconstruction plans intended to reconnect communities and restore mobility after more than a decade of war and isolation.
The Syrian civil war began in March 2011 and left much of the country’s infrastructure in ruins. It ended in December 2024 with the fall of President Bashar Assad and his regime in the face of an opposition offensive. The appointment of a transitional administration marked the start of a fragile recovery.
The reconstruction efforts in the eastern governorate of Deir Ezzor extend beyond the bridges in its main city. On Wednesday, Deir Ezzor International Airport reopened following repairs.
Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani said the restoration of operations at the airport after nearly 14 years was part of a comprehensive national plan to reopen all of the country’s airports, and reflected the prioritization of the eastern region’s recovery, the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported.
