A Russian company has appointed a new manager for the port of Tartous, in which it is a major investor.
Gaysin Iirat Raivatovic will be the fourth director within the span of a year, according to the Port Directorate’s Facebook account.
The Directorate wrote that “Mr. Gaysin Iirat Raivatovic was appointed to the position of Director of the Directorate of Administration of the Tartous Port, succeeding Alexei Aleksanrovich, who was appointed five months ago.”
Russian sources said that Raivatovic, who has a degree in transportation engineering, arrived in Syria a few days ago.
For his part, the head of the Maritime and Air Transport Syndicate in Tartous, Fouad Harba, considered that these changes “are not healthy, as every time we start working with a new director we have to return to square one.”
The Assad government had leased the port of Tartous through a 49-year contract, which it concluded with Russian company STG-E, taking over the management of the port in October 2019.
The regime’s People’s Assembly approved a draft law authorizing the company to invest, manage, and develop the port of Tartous, the largest in Syria, claiming that the step comes within the context of preparing for the reconstruction of the country.
After the Russians took over, several disputes arose between the port workers and the Russian company, due to the latter’s decision to expel 3,600 Syrian workers who worked in the port before the company started managing it. The Assad government intervened to mediate their return, considering that the Russian decision contradicts the agreement.
This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author.
