DUBAI, November 1. /TASS/. Restoration of Syria’s Palmyra from the damage caused by the Islamic State (or IS, a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia) and civil war may take up to seven years and will require a large investment, Hasan Ali, Palmyra Museum director, told The National.
According to him, the antique ruins’ rehabilitation will cost "a huge sum" and take "six to seven years." The issue concerns Syria's "sense of belonging, memory and national identity," he added.
Some 80% of houses were destroyed in Palmyra, and the site lacks basic infrastructure, including electricity and water, Ali noted. Therefore, there are hardly any locals near the fabled antique ruins, and hotels and restaurants remain shut, he shared.
Since the government of former Syrian president Bashar Assad was toppled in 2024, around 80,000 people have visited Palmyra, and officials expect to increase the number of foreign visitors to more than a million a year after the effort to rebuild the city. As more than 80% of funerary structures have been damaged on site, specialists are discussing how to restore the city and whether the site’s famous ruins should be rebuilt or not. Looting remains a problem, the news website added.
