Russia to spend $500 million to modernize Syria's Tartus port

Russia will spend $500 million to modernize Syria's commercial port of Tartus, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Borisov said.

Speaking during the meeting with Assad in Damascus, Borisov said that the four-year modernization program envisages an overhaul of the old port in Tartus and the construction of a new one.

He noted that Russia helped restore a fertilizer plant in Homs and plans to invest $200 million to expand its capacity, Reuters reported.

The Deputy PM added that there is also a plan to build a railway across Syria and Iraq that will link Syria's Mediterranean coast with the Persian Gulf.