欧美文化:Syrian construction firms manage to overcome Western sanctions via self-sufficiency

DAMASCUS, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Syrian construction companies have managed to stay afloat using homemade tools and equipment despite the heavy economic sanctions imposed by the United States and its Western allies, said local chief executives and directors.

Heads of local companies seeking business opportunities have flocked to the five-day Buildex construction fair, which runs until Saturday at the Damascus Fairground outside the capital city, where attendees told Xinhua how they have joined hands to tide through the adversities.

"Of course, we have difficulties in carrying out our jobs, but we are overcoming the difficulties by relying on ourselves. In this company, we have achieved self-sufficiency in every area of our engineering work," said Moayad Dabbas, CEO of Sham Contracting Company.

He said Syrian business owners are under the impact of the sanctions which prohibit any foreign construction company to operate in Syria or help the rebuilding process in the war-torn country, so self-reliance is the only way to overcome the impact and gain a foothold.

Jean Kasabian, executive director of DAMA for Concrete and Building Materials, said Syrian companies are able to manufacture their own construction machinery, hailing it a necessary step to maintain self-sufficiency in the face of the tough sanctions.

"The sanctions, whether the American or European ones, have for sure had an impact in the beginning but today we have made strides in overcoming such an obstacle. As you can see, all these prototypes of construction machinery are made by Syrian companies with Syrian hands," Kasabian noted.

At the sidelines of the fair, Syrian Minister of Works and Housing Sohail Abdel Latif told Xinhua that production is the prime concern of Syria's next phase of development when local manufacturing is improving.

A big development in the manufacturing processes has enabled new local production and strengthened the already-existing one, Latif said.

"This is compatible with the state policy about relying on production as the sole solution in the light of these sanctions," the minister added.